Confusion reigned at this stage but the Times of India, citing a preliminary investigation report, said on Sunday that “human error” could have led to the collision between the three trains, one of the world’s worst rail disasters. The number of victims reached almost 300 people killed and a thousand others injured.

But the toll is expected to continue to rise, and could reach 380 dead, according to the director general of the Odisha state fire service, Sudhanshu Sarangi.

Train diverted

The Coromandel Express, which connects Calcutta to Madras, had been given permission to operate on the main line but was diverted due to human error on a track that already had goods trains, the newspaper said.

The passenger train then crashed into a goods convoy at a speed of around 130 km/h. Three coaches then fell onto adjacent tracks, hitting the back of an express train running between Bangalore and Calcutta. It was the crash that caused the most damage, the Times added, citing initial reports.

On Saturday, media reports, citing railway officials, spoke of a signaling error.

“No one responsible” for the crash will be spared, promised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the disaster site on Saturday and met the injured in hospital. “I pray that we come out of this sad moment as quickly as possible,” he told public broadcaster Doordarshan.

Survivors and bodies were taken from the carriages

About 24 hours after the crash, rescue operations ended on Saturday evening, as culled carcasses were searched for survivors. “All bodies and injured passengers have been evacuated from the accident site,” said officials at the emergency coordination room in Balasore, near the scene of the tragedy.

All hospitals between the accident site and Bhubaneswar were admitting victims, authorities said. Around 200 ambulances, and even buses, were deployed to transport them.

After the crash, “people were screaming, asking for help,” Arjun Das, one of the survivors, told an Indian television channel. Passengers were thrown from their beds, “there were injured people lying everywhere in the carriages and along the tracks”, he added, stressing that he wanted to “forget the scene” he witnessed.

Rescue teams worked tirelessly until Saturday morning to evacuate the victims. Many bodies covered in white shrouds lay beside the train tracks.