The wagons are lying on their sides, completely off the rails, dented, disfigured. On the first photos of the train accident which occurred on Friday evening June 3, which left at least 288 dead and more than 850 injured, the violence of the shock is apparent. Footage broadcast overnight by local television stations showed numerous corpses covered in white shrouds lying on the tracks. Rescuers are still working tirelessly to extract the last survivors from the wreckage.
The accident took place in eastern India, near Balasore, about 200 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state of Odisha. It involves three trains, two passenger and a goods convoy. Nearly 850 people are injured and have been hospitalized. Odisha State Fire Service Director General Sudhanshu Sarangi told Agence France Presse that the death toll has reached 288. “Relief operations continue on the spot, and they will not be finished for several hours,” he added.
One of the worst disasters
“The number of casualties on the ground or injuries is very difficult to assess at the moment,” said Amitabh Sharma, Indian Railways director, as many passengers are likely to remain trapped in the rubble. A survivor told reporters he was asleep when the crash happened, and awoke to find himself under a dozen other passengers, before crawling out of his compartment with injuries to his chest. neck and arm.
“We have prepared all major public and private hospitals, from the crash site to the state capital, to take care of the injured,” said SK Panda, a spokesman for the regional authorities. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his part said he was “distressed”. “My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured make a speedy recovery,” he tweeted, adding that he had spoken with Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to provide an “update on the situation. “. The army should be mobilized in the next few hours.
It is one of the worst rail disasters the country has ever seen. India has seen several in the past, including one that claimed nearly 1,000 lives in 1981. But safety on the rails has improved dramatically in recent years thanks to massive new investment and upgrades. technologies.