Passenger trains derail in India, killing at least 50

A significant train collision in eastern India caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Friday night, two passenger trains and one freight train collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The disaster has resulted in at least 50 fatalities and hundreds of injuries, with 200 people still believed to be buried beneath the detritus.

The precise causes and circumstances of the derailment are still unknown. Two passenger trains collided head-on, according to the accident reports.

Multiple derailed train carriages are visible on the scene, with first responders and civilians sifting through the debris. Some of the vehicles appear to have been severely damaged and deformed by the impact of the impending train.

“In Balasore, 10-12 coaches of the Howrah-to-Chennai Coromandel Express train derailed and encroached on the opposite track, leading to the derailment of 3-4 coaches of a train traveling from Yeshwanthpur to Howrah,” said railway spokesman Amitabh Sharma.

According to Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, the chief administrator in Balasore, the district where the derailment occurred, at least 50 persons were slain in the resultant pileup. Approximately 200 persons are suspected to be stranded in the debris, he added.

It is anticipated that the death toll will rise even further, given that additional media reports placed the number of fatalities at over 120. According to local officials, between 300 and 400 individuals were hospitalized due to injuries sustained in the collision.

The tragedy has resulted in the cancellation of multiple trains on the affected route, which is one of the busiest and most important railway corridors in eastern India.