More than 250 dead in India's three-train collision

Over 250 people have been killed in a three-train crash train in the Indian city of Balasore, on Friday. The collision involving two passenger trains and a goods train has also left over 900 people injured.

State chief secretary Pradeep Jena confirmed on Twitter that at least 261 people have lost their lives in “one of the worst rail crashes in recent history.” Jena also said that the death toll is expected to rise as teams carry out a colossal rescue operation.

“Around 7:00pm, 12841 Coromandel Express, which runs between Shalimar and Chennai, around Balasore, 10 to 12 of its coaches derailed and tossed over to the opposite track. After some time, another train, which runs between Yesvantpur and Howrah, dashed into those derailed coaches, which resulted in the derailment of its three to four coaches,” Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma told reporters on the scene.

Both trains then derailed. 

Images from the scene, going viral on social media, show upturned coaches littered across train tracks and rescuers attempting to find survivors in a damaged rail carriage. 

Video footage by passersby shows people climbing the mangled train carriages.

On Twitter, Pradeep Jena said Friday’s rescue effort includes more than 115 ambulances and several fire service units.

“About 500 units of blood were collected overnight with 900 units currently in stock,” Jena added. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer his condolences and ensured that rescue operations are still underway.

This is not the first time that India witnessed a train crash of this magnitude.

However, the death toll from Friday’s crash has already surpassed that of the infamous 2016 train crash, which left over 240 people killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

In 2021, more than 16,400 were killed in nearly 18,000 railway accidents across the country, with many blaming ageing infrastructure and poor maintenance as the main cause.