The triple train collision in Odisha's Balasore district has resulted in the death of over 250 people and more than 900 people injured in one of the worst train accidents in India. Around 7 pm on Friday, the 2148 Coromandel Express, which starts from Shalimar near Howrah and runs up to Chennai, derailed near Balasore. About 10-12 coaches of the express train derailed at Balasore and infringed on the adjacent track. After a short while, 2864 Yashwantpur to Howrah train, which was enroute Howrah, did a side dashing as the track was infringed due to the derailed coaches of Coromandel Express.
The answer to the first question in the tweet below mentions in detail how the derailed coaches infringed on the parallel tracks, leading to the triple crash.
As news regarding the derailment and collision spread, fears of casualties turned true as the pictures showed the scale of the accident. The railway rescue operations was launched immediately. The AGM, South-Eastern left for the spot immediately. The first team of doctors reached from Bhadrak district in Odisha. Soon after, NDRF and ODRF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force) teams as well as 24 fire service units reached the spot.
While this was the official version mentioned by the Railways spokesperson and Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena, those who survived the calamitous train crash narrated the horror they witnessed.
The injured were soon rushed to the Balasore Medical College and district hospital. Other injured were referred to Cuttack hospital.
As the night progressed, the death toll kept increasing and by Saturday morning it was clear that the accident had claimed over 250 lives and close to a thousand people had sustained injuries. People and political leaders took to Twitter to express shock and grief over the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meet and soon came the announcement that he would be visiting the accident site as well as Cuttack to see the injured admitted in the hospital.
Made-in-India 'Kavach' system yet to be fully installed
Question were also raised over 'Kavach' system- the indigenous anti-collision system developed to prevent such accidents. The system was in place from 2012 and received great praise and push from the government in 2022.
However, it turned out that the system has been installed only on select routes and was not available on the accident route.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjee visited the accident site and said, "There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know."
Compensation was announced and the Railways Minister who reached the accident spot was present throughout the rescue operations. The rescue operations ended shorty post Saturday noon. An enquiry will be held into the accident which will try to ascertain the cause of the accident that has numbed the country and raised questions over the safety of trains.
