India completes rescue operations after deadly train accident in Odisha kills hundreds

Rescue operations have been completed after a three-way train accident last night in Odisha's Balasore district claimed hundreds of lives and injured close to a thousand passengers in what is claimed to be the country's fourth deadliest train mishap.

"The rescue operation has been completed and restoration work has started. We will thoroughly investigate this incident and will ensure such incidents don't happen in future," said Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The anti-train collision system was not available on this route, Amitabh Sharma, Railways spokesperson, had said earlier today. The anti-train collision system alerts when a loco pilot misses a signal (Signal Passed at Danger — SPAD), which typically is the leading cause for train collisions. The system can alert the pilot, and then take control of the brakes to bring the train to a halt if it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.


"NDRF has nine teams there - seven from Odisha and two from West Bengal. Almost all the live victims have been sent to hospital so nine teams are sufficient..," says Narendra Singh Bundela, IG operation, NDRF.

More than 300 NDRF rescuers with big metal cutters, canine squads and other heavy-lift equipment are working at the train accident site in Odisha and are expected to wind up the search operation by Saturday evening, Director General of the force Atul Karwal told PTI.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed Mi-17 helicopters for the evacuation of the deceased and injured passengers. According to the Eastern Command, IAF is coordinating the rescue efforts with the civil administration and Indian Railways, ANI reported.

Huge cranes and bulldozers were brought in to raise the mangled coaches that turned to be a huge heap of steel boxes. Rescue workers wielded gas torches and electric cutters to pull out the dead bodies and hunt for the survivors.

So far, 288 people have died and nearly a thousand injured, according to agencies.

Several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on the way to Howrah, derailed and fell on adjacent tracks. The derailed coaches collided with the 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and its coaches capsized as well. A goods train was also involved in the accident as the Coromandel Express hit its wagons.

The horrific train crash happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.

India's Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the cause of the horrific train accident in Odisha will be known after a probe and the government will set up a "high-level inquiry".

While it is not clear what caused the crash, PTI said sources indicate a possible signalling failure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today visit the accident spot and has convened a meeting to review the situation. The Indian government had on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and even some other states have declared one-day state mourning in the wake of the deadly triple train crash.