3rd June 2023 – (New Delhi) Over 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in a train collision involving two passenger trains and a goods train in the Indian city of Balasore, marking one of the worst rail crashes in recent history. State chief secretary Pradeep Jena confirmed on Twitter that at least 233 people have died and 900 are injured in the disaster that occurred in eastern Odisha state on Friday. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams carry out a monumental rescue operation. Images from the scene showed rescuers trying to find survivors in a damaged rail carriage, and video footage showed upturned coaches scattered across train tracks, with people climbing a mangled train carriage.
More than 115 ambulances and several fire service units were deployed in Friday’s rescue, with about 500 units of blood collected overnight and 900 units currently in stock, according to Jena. The cause of the catastrophic crash has yet to be determined, with Jena emphasising that the focus is on ongoing rescue operations. Both trains derailed after one passenger train collided with coaches of an already derailed passenger train that had fallen into the opposite track, before another train hit those derailed coaches, according to Indian authorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on Twitter, saying, “May the injured recover soon. Rescue ops are underway at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected.”