The death toll rises after a serious train accident in eastern India.
At least 280 people have died and 900 people have been injured.
“IN In this moment of grief, my thoughts go to the grieving families,” writes the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter.
The death toll from the accident where several trains collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha continues to rise. More than 280 victims have been found so far and at least 900 people are said to be injured. In addition, many are still feared to be stuck in the demolished train carriages.
Early on Saturday morning, Swedish time, Sudhanshu Sarangi, head of the rescue service in Odisha, told AFP that 288 people have been confirmed dead in the crash.
A total of three trains were involved in the accident. One of the passenger trains must have first derailed and crashed into a stationary freight train. A second oncoming train should have then collided with some of the derailed carriages, said Amitabh Sharma, head of India’s state railway company.
What caused the accident is unknown, but an extensive investigation will be carried out according to the authorities.
The Prime Minister: “Shaken”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi writes on Twitter that he is “shaken” by the incident.
“In this moment of grief, my thoughts go out to the grieving families,” he writes.
Railway track safety has improved in India in recent years following investments in infrastructure and technology. However, train accidents are still common with several hundred occurrences each year. But the current accident is one of the worst in the country’s history.
In August 1995, 358 people were killed when two trains collided near New Delhi in the country’s worst accident to date.