The death toll from a two-train collision in eastern India has risen to at least 233 and more than 900 injured, amid fears that many may be trapped under the wreckage, two officials said at dawn Saturday.
“The number is on the rise due to the large number of serious injuries and head injuries,” Odisha State Fire Service Director General Sudanshu Sarangi told AFP.
“About 850 injured people have been taken to hospitals,” Pradeep Gina, a local official in Odisha state, told AFP.
Railway officials said the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with another passenger train, the Howrah Superfast Express.
Pictures from the scene showed rescuers climbing the wreckage of a train to search for survivors.
Hundreds of young people lined up in front of a government hospital in the state to donate blood.
According to Southeastern Railway authorities, the Howrah Superfast Express derailed and collided with the Coromandel Express.
Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, said the authorities’ priority is to “transfer the living to hospitals, and that is our number one concern.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted Friday that rescue operations were continuing at the site and “all possible assistance” was being given to those affected.
#tragedy #India.. #death #toll #trains #collided #country
2023-06-02 21:27:08
