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India train crash: More than 280 dead after Odisha incident India train crash: More than 230 dead after Odisha incident
(about 2 hours later)
Footage showed rescuers trying to free victims from the wreckageFootage showed rescuers trying to free victims from the wreckage
Footage showed rescuers trying to free victims from the wreckageFootage showed rescuers trying to free victims from the wreckage
At least 288 people are now known to have been killed and 850 injured in a multiple train collision in India's eastern Odisha state, officials say. At least 238 people have been killed and 650 are injured in a crash involving three trains in India's eastern Odisha state, officials say.
More than 200 ambulances were sent to the scene in Balasore district, says Odisha's chief secretary Pradeep Jena. One passenger train derailed and its coaches fell on to the adjacent track where they were struck by an incoming train on Friday evening.
One passenger train is thought to have derailed before being struck by another on the adjacent track late on Friday.
It is India's worst train crash this century. Officials say the death toll is expected to rise further.
Indian Railways said the two services involved were the Coromandel Express and the Howrah Superfast Express.Indian Railways said the two services involved were the Coromandel Express and the Howrah Superfast Express.
Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, said that the death toll stood at 288. Officials say it is India's worst train crash this century.
Mr Jena said earlier that more than 100 additional doctors had been mobilised. Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, had earlier said that the death toll stood at 288, but officials later said 238 people had died.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the incident and his thoughts were with the bereaved families. But the toll is expected to rise as many passengers are still thought to be trapped in the wreckage and on Saturday morning, rescuers were working hard to reach them.
"Rescue ops are under way at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected," he tweeted. More than 200 ambulances and hundreds of doctors, nurses and rescue personnel were sent to the scene in Balasore district, the state's chief secretary Pradeep Jena said.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah labelled the incident "deeply agonising". Drone footage shot at the accident site showed several of the coaches had detached from the train and tipped on the side - a few others are completely overturned.
"The force with which the trains collided has resulted in several coaches being crushed and mangled. We are trying to cut through the wreckage to reach the passengers. We also have to be careful to not hurt those alive," Atul Karwal, chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told news agency ANI.
He said this was "the third deadliest crash in the history of Indian railways".
It is India's worst train crash this century
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is at the site of the accident and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the injured in the hospital later on Saturday.
One male survivor said that "10 to 15 people fell on me when the accident happened and everything went haywire. I was at the bottom of the pile.One male survivor said that "10 to 15 people fell on me when the accident happened and everything went haywire. I was at the bottom of the pile.
"I got hurt in my hand and also the back of my neck. When I came out of the train bogie, I saw someone had lost their hand, someone had lost their leg, while someone's face was distorted," the survivor told India's ANI news agency."I got hurt in my hand and also the back of my neck. When I came out of the train bogie, I saw someone had lost their hand, someone had lost their leg, while someone's face was distorted," the survivor told India's ANI news agency.
A day of mourning has been announced in the state.A day of mourning has been announced in the state.
It is India's worst train crash this century Officials said several carriages from the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed at about 19:00 local time (13:30 GMT), hit a stationary goods train and several of its coaches ended up on the opposite track.
It is believed that several carriages from the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed at about 19:00 local time (13:30 GMT), with some of them ending up on the opposite track. Another train - the Howrah Superfast Express travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah - then hit the overturned carriages.
Another train - the Howrah Superfast Express travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah - is then thought to have hit the overturned carriages. Residents of the neighbouring villages were among the first to reach the site of the accident and start the rescue operation.
Indian officials said that a goods train - which was stationary at the site - was also involved in the incident. They provided no further details.
Some surviving passengers were seen rushing in to help rescue those trapped in the wreckage.Some surviving passengers were seen rushing in to help rescue those trapped in the wreckage.
Local bus companies were also helping to transport wounded passengers.Local bus companies were also helping to transport wounded passengers.
India has one of the largest train networks in the world and accidents are common, despite successive governments investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the infrastructure, says BBC South Asia regional editor Anbarasan Ethirajan.
India's worst train disaster was in 1981, when an overcrowded passenger train was blown off the tracks and into a river during a cyclone in Bihar state, killing at least 800 people.India's worst train disaster was in 1981, when an overcrowded passenger train was blown off the tracks and into a river during a cyclone in Bihar state, killing at least 800 people.
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