Odisha Chief Secretary, PK Jena has reported a total of 275 deaths and about 1,100 injured in the triple train crash which occured on Friday, 2nd June, on the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express in Eastern India.
The disaster which was blamed on signaling failure, is the most terrible train crash in the history of India.
On Saturday, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the crash site gave an analysis of what happened. He said, the train entered an adjacent loop line, a side track used for parking, where it rammed into a freight train loaded with iron ore.
According to Modi, the collision flipped the Coromandel coaches on another track, causing the incoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the opposite side to also derail.
Modi added that the passenger trains, carrying 2,296 people, were not speeding.
The state government, on Sunday, released the photographs of more than 160 victims, many in horrific condition with gruesome injuries, in a bid to help families identify the bodies.
The Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said it was his “goal” to ensure that family members could find their missing loved ones as soon as possible. “Our responsibility is not over yet,” he said.
Sources from the Railway Ministry has however, ruled out driver error and system malfunctioning, indicating possible ‘sabotage’ and tampering of the electronic interlocking system.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been tapped to investigate the accident.
Consoling the people of India, the King of the United Kingdom, King Charles III, has sent a message of condolence to the President of India.
He said: “I would like to express our deepest possible condolences to the families of all those who have so tragically lost their lives.
“I do hope you know what a special place India and the people of India have in our hearts. I have particularly fond memories of visiting Odisha in 1980 and meeting some of its people on that occasion.
“I pray, therefore, that you may be able to convey our most heartfelt prayers and sympathy to all those who have been affected by this appalling tragedy, together with our special thoughts for the people of Odisha.”
– (SKYNEWS | CNN | INDIA TODAY)
