Dozens of people died in a train accident in India on Friday. The PTI news agency and “India Today” reported 70 deaths, while other media reported around 30 to 50. Several hundred people were injured, it said. The rescue work took place in the dark. Railway officials said the Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai collided with the Howrah Superfast Express in Odisha state.
According to the Times of India, the accident involved two passenger trains and a freight train. The exact course of the accident was initially unclear. According to the authorities, about 50 ambulances are said to be on the scene, the Times of India reported. Videos showed helpers trying to rescue passengers from overturned wagons.
350 people were injured, some seriously
Senior government official Pradeep Jena from Odisha wrote on Twitter that initially more than 350 passengers were taken to hospitals, other sources report up to 800 injured. Photos from the scene of the accident showed rescuers searching the wreckage of a wagon for survivors.
An eyewitness told local television channel NDTV that he saw human body parts everywhere. He woke up when his train derailed. “10 to 15 people fell on me. My hands and neck were injured,” said the eyewitness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Shocked by Odisha train crash. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the grieving families.” In his tweet, he also wished the injured a speedy recovery. The Prime Minister’s Office announced compensation for the relatives of the dead of 200,000 rupees (2,267.57 euros) each. The injured should therefore receive 50,000 rupees each. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promised also Rs 1 million in compensation to the families of the dead According to the information, seriously injured should get 200,000 rupees each and slightly injured 50,000 rupees each.
Source: Krone
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