India train crash kills at least 280, rescue efforts end
Share this @internewscast.com

Rescue efforts ended Saturday for India’s deadliest rail crash in over two decades, which left at least 288 people dead and 900 more injured, officials said Saturday.

Rescuers desperately combed through the wreckage and climbed atop the wrecked trains to burn open doors and windows using cutting torches searching for any signs of life after a passenger train went off the tracks and slammed into another one Friday night about 137 miles southwest of Kolkata in eastern India.

A possible signal error led to the crash, according to a preliminary government report seen by Reuters.

“Families crushed away, limbless bodies and a bloodbath on the tracks,” said surviving passenger Anubha Das.

The death toll rose steadily throughout the night into early Saturday morning.

Scores of bodies, covered by white sheets, lay on the ground near the tracks while locals and rescuers raced to free hundreds trapped inside the rail cars under the metal remains and shattered glass.


Rescuers desperately combed through the wreckage and climbed atop the wrecked trains, searching for passengers.
Rescuers desperately combed through the wreckage and climbed atop the wrecked trains, searching for passengers.
AP

Hundreds of bodies were covered and laid on the ground near the tracks.
Hundreds of bodies were covered and laid on the ground near the tracks.
AFP via Getty Images

Army soldiers and air force helicopters joined the effort.

But after an extensive search-and-rescue — which included hundreds of fire department personnel, police officers, and National Disaster Response Force teams as well as sniffer dogs — authorities ended the rescue operation.

Workers also started clearing debris to restore rail traffic.

 “By 10 p.m. [on Friday] we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies,” Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha state’s fire and emergency department, told The Associated Press. “This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career.”


Rescue workers carry the body of a victim along the tracks at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore.
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim along the tracks at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore.
AFP via Getty Images

The collision occurred around 7 p.m. local time Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bengaluru hit the Coromandel Express from Kolkata.
The collision occurred around 7 p.m. local time Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bengaluru hit the Coromandel Express from Kolkata.
AP

Families of the dead will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000), and the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees, with 50,000 rupees for minor injuries, according to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The collision occurred around 7 p.m. local time Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bengaluru to Howrah in West Bengal hit the Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai.

The accident occurred at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on modernizing the British colonial-era railroad network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion. 


Wounded survivors rescued from the wreckage were pictured getting medical attention.
Wounded survivors rescued from the wreckage receive medical attention.
AFP via Getty Images

A school turned into a mortuary center for the bodies of the victims after the accident.
A school turned into a mortuary center for the bodies of the victims after the accident.
REUTERS

Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India’s railways, the largest train network under one management in the world.

Modi flew to the crash site and spent half an hour examining relief efforts while talking to rescue leaders.

He was also seen giving instructions on the phone to officials in New Delhi.


A possible signal error led to the crash, according to a preliminary government report seen by Reuters.
A possible signal error led to the crash, according to a preliminary government report seen by Reuters.
REUTERS

"Families crushed away, limbless bodies and a bloodbath on the tracks," said surviving passenger Anubha Das (not pictured).
“Families crushed away, limbless bodies and a bloodbath on the tracks,” said surviving passenger Anubha Das.
AP

Modi on Saturday was supposed to inaugurate a high-speed train connecting Goa and Mumbai that is equipped with a collision avoidance system.

However, the festivities were canceled after Friday’s accident.

The trains that derailed did not have that system.


India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a hospital to meet the victims of the collision.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a hospital to meet the victims of the collision.
PIB/AFP via Getty Images

Amitabh Sharma, a Railroad Ministry spokesperson, said the rescue work was near completion.

Rail authorities will start removing the wreckage to repair the track and resume train operations, he said.

Indian Railways transports more than 13 million people every day, but the state-run agency has had a shady safety record because of decaying infrastructure.


Rail authorities will start removing the wreckage to repair the track and resume train operations, Amitabh Sharma, a Railroad Ministry spokesperson, said.
Rail authorities will start removing the wreckage to repair the track and resume train operations, Amitabh Sharma, a Railroad Ministry spokesperson, said.
AFP via Getty Images

Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India’s railways.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India’s railways.
AP

Modi’s administration has launched high-speed trains as part of plans to modernize the network, but critics say it has not focused enough on safety and upgrading its aging infrastructure.

India’s deadliest railway accident was in 1981 when a train plunged off a bridge into a river in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.

With Post wires

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Judge plans May trial for US Sen. Bob Menendez in bribery case

US Sen. Bob Menendez’s Bribery Case Scheduled for May Trial by Judge

NEW YORK – A judge is planning a spring trial for U.S.…
Chicago US postal worker Kierra Coles disappeared 5 years ago Monday

Chicago US postal worker Kierra Coles disappeared 5 years ago Monday

ByRob Hughes Monday, October 2, 2023 11:30AM CHICAGO (WLS) — Monday marks…
American Library Association Helped Create Legislation to Keep Sexual Material in School Libraries

American Library Association Helped Create Legislation to Keep Sexual Material in School Libraries

The American Library Association (ALA), a once-respected entity, has been at the…
Horrific surveillance footage has revealed the moment a heroic store clerk was set ablaze by a homeless thug as he tried to stop him from stealing from his work place

Horrific moment store clerk in crime-ridden Bay Area is set on FIRE with stolen lighter fluid by serial shoplifter, leaving him suffering from second and third-degree burns

Horrific surveillance footage has revealed the moment a Bay Area store clerk…
No time to buy: (left to right) Roger Moore's son Geoffrey, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and Moore's grandson Christian were at Bonham's on Monday as his collection of 007 memorabilia went under the hammer

No Mr. Bond, I expect you to buy! Sir Roger Moore’s son Geoffrey and grandson Christian join producer Barbara Broccoli at auction as actor’s personal collection of 007 memorabilia goes under the hammer

The family of former James Bond star Sir Roger Moore gathered at…
Church roof collapse in northern Mexico kills at least 9, injures about 50

Church roof collapse in northern Mexico kills at least 9, injures about 50

CIUDAD MADERO, Mexico — The roof of a church collapsed in northern…
Nobel in medicine goes to 2 University of Pennsylvania scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

Nobel in medicine goes to 2 University of Pennsylvania scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

PHILADELPHIA — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday…
Man shot, killed in parking lot of apartment complex on West Side, police say

Police say a man was shot and fatally wounded in a parking lot of an apartment complex on the West Side.

SAN ANTONIO – A man in his 40s was shot and killed…
Former President Donald Trump was seen arriving at Trump Tower in Manhattan Sunday night ahead of the start of his civil fraud trial on Monday morning

Donald Trump is seen arriving at Trump Tower in NYC ahead of today’s $250M civil fraud case against him as he says: ‘I’m going to court to fight for my name and reputation’

Former President Donald Trump was seen arriving at Trump Tower in Manhattan Sunday…
House fire ruptures gas line, causing flames to spread to second home, firefighters say

Firefighters report that a ruptured gas line during a house fire led to the spread of flames to a neighboring property.

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio firefighters found themselves facing double trouble as…
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman shared the coveted award for their discoveries concerning 'nucleoside base modifications' that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid. The duo were credited with helping to change the course of the Covid pandemic

And the winner is… Covid vaccines! Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to US scientist and Hungarian peer who helped create game-changing mRNA jabs

Two scientists whose pioneering work helped create game-changing mRNA Covid vaccines were…
Search resumes for missing 9-year-old girl who vanished during camping trip in upstate New York park

Authorities continue search for 9-year-old girl who disappeared during camping expedition at upstate New York park

MOREAU, N.Y. – Law enforcement, forest rangers and others resumed searching an…