 The scene of the tragic railway collision in Odisha state, India (Photo: Reuters) |
More than 200 ambulances and 180 doctors were sent to the site. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared a day of mourning on June 3.
The crash occurred after 10 to 12 coaches of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express derailed and fell on an adjacent track in the path of another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah near Balasore in Odisha late Friday night. The second passenger train traveling in the opposite direction collided with one of the two crashed trains, causing three carriages to deviate from the tracks.
PTI news agency reports that the tragic collision involving both the passenger trains and a cargo train, but this information has not been confirmed by railway authorities.
A massive rescue operation is underway at the accident site in Bahanaga Bazar near Balasore to retrieve people trapped in the derailed carriages. Hundreds of people queued up outside a hospital in Soro city to donate blood. The Railway Minister ordered for a high-level probe into the incident.