Video. Terrible train accident in India: At least 50 dead and over 500 injured

At least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in a train crash involving multiple trains in eastern India, a senior local official said on Friday. A passenger train, the Coromandel Express and a freight convoy collided near Balasore, about 200 kilometers from the Odisha state capital Bhubaneswar, witnesses and government spokesmen said regionally.

According to Pradeep Jena, a senior government official in the state, a second passenger train was also involved in the tragedy, but the circumstances under which it happened are not known.

“Around 50 people died and more than 500 were injured. Our top priority now is to rescue (passengers) and treat the injured,” Pradeep Jena said. A Balasore police official said the condition of several of the injured is critical, but nothing more is known at this time. Many passengers were also trapped under the carriages.

75 ambulances

“We expect the rescue operations to continue at least till tomorrow morning. On our part, we have made arrangements to attend to the injured in all major government and private hospitals from the accident site to the state capital,” said S.K. Panda, spokesperson for the state authorities.

He said “75 ambulances” had already been sent to the scene and “plenty of coaches” had been dispatched to transport both injured passengers and survivors. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “grieving” for his part. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said he would visit the accident site, stressing that the “air force” had also been “mobilised”.