Rescue operations at the site of a train disaster in India that left at least 288 people dead and 900 injured were completed on Saturday, a rescue official announced in the afternoon. Many bodies covered in white shrouds lay beside the train tracks at the scene of the tragedy, in the state of Odisha, in the east of the country. Odisha State Fire Brigade Director General Sudhanshu Sarangi said the death toll of 288 was expected to rise further, raising the possibility of reaching 380 deaths.

The disaster began with derailment of an express train provides a connection between Bangalore and Calcutta, which lies on the other route. Minutes later, another train, the Coromandal Express, traveling from Calcutta to Chennai hit a train that derailed, and some of its coaches hit a goods train parked nearby. Many tourists were sleeping when the accident occurred, causing people to fall out of bed. One survivor told reporters he awoke to find himself beneath a dozen other passengers, before crawling out of his compartment with wounds to his neck and arms.

load

Soldiers mobilized at the crash site

said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “Depressed” “I feel sorry for the bereaved family. May the injured recover quickly.”, he tweeted. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that he would immediately go to the accident site, and the army had been deployed to help.

India has experienced it several other train disasters in the past, but safety on trains has improved significantly in recent years thanks to massive investment and technological improvements. The country’s deadliest train accident occurred on 6 June 1981 when, in the (eastern) state of Bihar, seven carriages of a train crossing a bridge fell into the river, Bagmati, killing between 800 and 1,000 people.

“France united”

“I convey my sincere condolences to President Murmu, Prime Minister Modi and the people of India following the tragic train accident in Odisha”wrote Emmanuel Macron this Saturday on Twitter. “France stands in solidarity. My thoughts are with the families of the victims”added the head of state.