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Officials are investigating whether signal error was the likely cause of a train crash that has killed at least 288 people in India, according to local media reports.
Still reeling from the aftermath of the devastating collision between an express train, a goods train and a third train on Friday in the eastern state of Odisha, signalling problems and a corroded track were the focus of inquries, local media reported.
Survivors of the crash, one of India’s deadliest, have recalled a “nightmare” ordeal, during which around 900 were injured.
“This was my worst nightmare and the images will haunt me for life,” a survivor told local news.
Rescuers waded through piles of debris and wreckage all night to pull out bodies and free people. The search operation was called off after they found no more survivors in the wreckage.
Lawmakers from India’s opposition political parties demanded answers on what led to the crash and called for the resignation of railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Mr Vaishnaw said authorities would “go to the root cause of this accident and make sure such an accident never happens again”.
Breaking: India train crash that killed at least 288 ‘likely caused by signal error’
A signal error is thought to be the cause of a train crash that has killed at least 288 people in India, it has been reported.
The passenger Coromandel Express rammed into a goods train in Balasore city in Odisha state on Friday causing between 10 and 12 carriages to derail. A third train was also involved in the aftermath.
See the whole story here.
‘Racist’ Der Spiegel cartoon on India’s population raises hackles: ‘Elite, colonial mindset’
A cartoon published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel about India overtaking China as the world’s most populous country has angered Indians who have dubbed it “racist”.
Earlier this month, the UN had estimated that India will overtake China to become the world’s most populous country by the middle of the year.
On Monday, the multilateral agency said India’s population will eclipse an ageing China by the end of this month.
The cartoon in German Der Spiegel has riled up Indians who claim it is 'racist’
FACTBOX - India’s deadliest rail accidents
Here are details of some of the deadliest rail accidents in recent decades in India, where a railway official said at least 288 people were killed in a train crash in eastern state of Odisha on Friday.
June 1981: At least 800 people are killed when seven rear coaches of an overcrowded passenger train are blown off the track and fall into a river during a cyclone.
July 1988: An express train leaves the rails and plunges into a monsoon-swollen lake near Quilon in southern India, killing at least 106 people.
August 1995 - At least 350 people are killed when two trains collide 200 km (125 miles) from Delhi.
August 1999 - Two trains collide near Calcutta, leading to the deaths of at least 285 people.
October 2005: Several coaches of a passenger train derail in southern Andhra Pradesh state, near Velugonda. At least 77 people are killed.
July 2011: Around 70 people are killed and over 300 injured when a mail train derails in Fatehpur.
November 2016: Some 146 people are killed and more than 200 injured when an express train derails in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
January 2017: At least 41 people are killed after several coaches of a passenger train go off the rails in southern Andhra Pradesh state.
October 2018: A commuter train runs through a crowd gathered on the tracks for a festival in northern India‘s Amritsar city, killing at least 59 people and injuring 57.
Experts say focus on safety has not kept pace with expansion
Indian Railways maintains that safety has always been a key focus, and points to its low accident rate over the years.
“This question (on safety) is arising because there has been one incident now. But if you see the data, you will see that there have been no major accidents for years,” a railways ministry spokesperson said.
The number of accidents per million train kilometres, a gauge of safety, had fallen to 0.03 in fiscal 2021-22 from 0.10 in 2013-14, the spokesperson said.
A 1-trillion-rupee, five-year safety fund created in 2017-18 has been extended for another five years from 2022-23, with a further 450 billion rupees of funding, after the first plan led to an “overall improvement in safety indicators”, he added.
“Some malfunction has happened and that the inquiry will reveal,” he said, referring to Friday’s crash. “We will find out why it happened and how it happened.”
Srinand Jha, an independent transport expert and author at the International Railway Journal, said the railways have been working on safety mechanisms such as anti-collision devices and emergency warning systems but have been slow to install them across the network.
“They will always tell you that accidents are at a very manageable level because they talk about them in terms of percentages,” Jha said, adding that in recent years the focus has been more on new trains and modern stations and not as much on tracks, signalling systems and asset management.
“This accident brings out the need to focus more on these aspects,” he said.
Deadly train accident happens amid Modi’s modernisation of India’s railways
The accident occurred at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the modernisation of the British colonial-era railroad network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents occur every year on India‘s railways, the largest train network under one management in the world.
Modi flew to the crash site and spent half an hour examining the relief effort and talking to rescue officials. He was seen giving instructions on the phone to officials in New Delhi.
He later visited a hospital where he walked around inquiring from doctors about the treatment being given to the injured, and spoke to some of them, moving from bed to bed in a ward.
Modi told reporters that it was a sad moment and he was feeling the pain of those who have suffered in the accident. He said the government would do its utmost to help them and strictly punish those found responsible.
Modi on Saturday was supposed to inaugurate a high-speed train connecting Goa and Mumbai that is equipped with a collision avoidance system. The event was canceled after Friday’s accident. The trains that derailed did not have that system.
At least 288 dead, railway official says
At least 288 people have been killed in a train accident in eastern India, a railway official has said.
Rescuers find no more survivors
Rescuers found no more survivors in the overturned and mangled wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades, officials said Saturday.
Chaotic scenes erupted after the derailment on Friday night about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata, as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches.
The death toll rose steadily throughout the night. Scores of bodies, covered by white sheets, lay on the ground near the tracks while locals and rescuers raced to free the hundreds of people trapped in the rail cars under the twisted metal and broken glass.
Army soldiers and air force helicopters joined the effort.
An Associated Press photographer saw bodies still entangled in a badly mangled coach, as rescuers struggled to retrieve them working under the oppressive heat with temperatures reaching up to 35 degree Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit).
“By 10 p.m. (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies,” Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha state’s fire and emergency department, told The Associated Press.
“This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career.”
At least 280 bodies were recovered overnight and into Saturday morning, he said. About 900 people were injured and the cause was under investigation.
PM Modi reaches accident site to take stock of tragedy
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi reached the site of the tragic accident to take stock of the extent of the accident.
The incident involving the collision of two passenger trains yesterday has killed over 200 individuals and injured over 900.
The prime minister then visited a hospital in Balasore to meet the injured victims, according to news agency ANI.
Mr Modi reportedly spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all needed help is provided to the injured and their families.
How rescuers found survivors at crash site
Just moments after two trains collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha at 7pm local time yesterday, people living nearby rushed to the site to evacuate trapped passengers after hearing a loud sound.
Over 1,200 rescuers worked with 115 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units through the night as part of the rescue efforts.
“By 10 p.m. (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies...This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career,” Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha state’s fire and emergency department, told AP, adding that at least 280 bodies were recovered overnight.
Aerials of India train crash
Rescuers said their efforts were however slowed due to two train cars being pressed together by the impact of the accident.
Many rescuers climbed atop wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches.
“The local people really went out on a limb to help us. They not only helped in pulling out people but retrieved our luggage and got us water,” PTI reported, citing Rupam Banerjee, a survivor.
Aerial visuals show extent of devastation from deadly collision
Videos captured by drones show mangled and derailed train carriages and people strewn across the ground as rescue workers searched the site for trapped passengers.
The devastating accident killed nearly 300 people and injured hundreds in what is the deadliest railway incident in the country this century.
Aerial visuals over scene of deadly India train accident show extent of deadly crash
Aerial footage captured above the scene of the deadly India train crash shows the extent of the incident that has killed almost 300 people. Mangled and derailed train carriages are seen strewn across the ground as rescue workers continue to search the site. Nearly 300 people have died and hundreds more were left injured after two passenger trains crashed into each other in India’s eastern state of Odisha around 7pm yesterday, June 2. Footage from the scene shows the damaged carriages derailed and laying on their sides both near the tracks and meters away. This morning, India’s Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said: “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.” Keep up to date with The Independent’s live blog here.
Aerial footage shows damaged carriages derailed and laying on their sides near the tracks as well as meters away.
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2023-06-03 16:06:01Z
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