03/06/2023, 08:50

| Reading time: 4 minutes

show description

This is the most catastrophic train wreck in decades: in the east from India at least 288 people died, out of three derailed train is. About 900 people were injured, according to Odisha state authorities early Saturday.

A crane Meanwhile, they had arrived at the scene of the action, which pulled each cart one by one. However, there is no hope of finding more survivors, the local fire chief told news agency ANI. “We are disheartened, we have never seen so many bodies in our lives.”

That doom happened on Friday night around 19:00 local time (1500 CEST) in a rural area of ​​Balasore district, 200 kilometers southwest of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. Two passenger trains and a freight train collided one after the other on a parallel section of the track.

According to media reports, it may just be one of the two passenger train derailed, the other then hit a wagon lying on the tracks in a parallel track several meters away. Which of the two trains derailed first and for what reason remains unclear; as well as the question what freight train had actually been parked on different tracks at the time of the accident and was hit by one of the derailed passenger trains.

“10 to 15 people fell on me”

With dawn on Saturday, how far disaster more visible. About a dozen wrecked cars lay on the tracks, steel giants stood, several with compartment ceilings torn off, windows shattered.

Tried and next to the cart dozens of helpers in civilian clothes and rescue workers in orange protective suits desperate to save injured passengers under tons of debris. An eyewitness told local television station NDTV that he was jolted out of his sleep when his train suddenly derailed and chaos free.

“10 to 15 people fell on me,” he told the broadcaster. He himself escaped with wounds to his neck and hands, but then Corpses and body parts everywhere see.

India is known for its troubled rail system

“The sound was deafening, I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet. Our train was being thrown back and forth,” one passenger was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper. Then he looked out the window and derailed carriage visible, with people trapped underneath. “It was dark and I could hear screams.”

Another man described how distraught relatives then searched for their loved ones in fields of mutilated bodies. “The sight was too terrifyingto describe him.”

from India sick rail system with old trains and track systems in need of overhaul are known for accidents. But such a high casualty toll is extremely rare even in a huge country of 1.4 billion people.

Government: investigation and compensation for victims’ relatives

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told ANI news agency that he had one Investigation ordered to cause a railroad disaster. In the afternoon also visited the Prime Minister Narendra Modi crash site. “Those responsible will be severely punished,” he said, according to local media such as the Hindustan Times. Accordingly, instructions were given to consider “every angle” during the investigation. Modi also said the government will do whatever it takes to treat the injured.

Meanwhile, the reactions of dismay came from Germany: “Railway accident in India with hundreds of dead and injured shocked me deeply,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said on Twitter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote: “I express my heart to the families of the victims of the train accident in Odisha deepest condolences and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Office of Prime Minister shortly after the accident it was announced that compensation for the relatives of the dead was 200,000 rupees (2,267 euros) each. Therefore, the injured must get 50,000 rupees each. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also promised Rs 1 million in compensation to the families of the dead. According to information, people who were seriously injured should receive 200,000 rupees each and slightly injured persons 50,000 rupees each. (fmg)