The Independent

Odisha train accident - latest: Graphic images released by India authorities as families pray for miracle

The Independent logo The Independent 05.06.2023 10:02:14 Shweta Sharma

LIVE - Updated at 07:45

Authorities in Odisha have released graphic pictures of dozens of bodies of the victims of Friday's train crash, as services finally resumed on the tracks involved.

The Odisha government hopes the images will help families of passengers to find their loved ones' remains. The names of around 300 injured passengers who are still in hospital have also been released.

Officials say preliminary investigations point to an error in the electronic signalling system as being the most likely cause of the crash, which killed at least 275 people and left more than 1,100 injured.

India's railways minister, who has faced calls from the opposition to resign over the crash, oversaw the resumption of train services on Sunday night after some 51 hours of rescue and restoration work.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the authorities are still working so that "missing persons' family members can find them as soon as possible".

The accident involving two packed passenger express trains and a stationary freight train has sparked anger across India over the management of the country's massive rail network, which serves 22 million people every day.

Aerial footage captured above the scene of the deadly India train crash shows the extent of the incident that has killed almost 275 people.

Mangled and derailed train carriages are seen strewn across the ground as rescue workers continued to search the site.

A goods train has derailed in Odisha's Bargarh district, as relief and rescue work following the country's deadliest train disaster this century came to an end in Balasore in the same state.

No casualties have been reported in the incident.

The goods train was operated by a private cement company and it derailed inside the factory premises near Mendhapali.

"There is no role of Railways in this matter," operator East Coast Railway said.

The second derailment comes three days after a triple train collision left around 275 people dead and more than 1,100 people injured.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in the US, called out the Narendra Modi government for not taking responsibility for one of the worst disasters in the history of the Indian railways, as he suggested ministers should resign over the crash.

"I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say 'now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed'. The Congress minister said 'it's my responsibility and I'm resigning'. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with," Mr Gandhi said.

Taking a potshot at Mr Modi, he said the prime minister is "incapable of looking at the future".

"He (Mr Modi) is trying to drive the car.the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it's the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them," he said.

"You listen to the ministers, you listen to the prime minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past".

Mr Gandhi, who is on a six-day tour of three American cities, addressed a huge gathering of the Indian diaspora in the Javits Centre in New York on Sunday night.

The driver of the passenger train Coromandel Express, Hajari Behera, remains in condition in an intensive care unit after suffering severe injuries in Friday's crash.

GN Mohanty, the assistant driver, was found conscious after the crash on Friday night and assisted railway officials in their investigation after being taken to hospital.

"He could only say that he got a green signal. After that, his condition became serious and he is now hospitalised," said railways official Jaya Varma Sinha.

A doctor said the driver remains in ICU as of Monday morning.

The government of Odisha has released pictures of dozens of bodies of passengers who died in the train collision in Balasore.

The release of the pictures was accompanied by a disclaimer urging viewers' discretion over the disturbing and graphic images.

"The photographs of the deceased in Balasore train accident are being posted only to facilitate identification," it said.

"Given the nature of the accident, the images posted are disturbing. It is advised that children avoid viewing these images," it added.

The images have been posted on the Odisha government's website.

The government also released pictures of unnamed people receiving treatment in various hospitals to help connect them to loved ones, as well as the names of 344 injured people currently undergoing treatment in hospitals.

A young man in his twenties wails as he runs towards the mortuary, moments after receiving the news he had been dreading - that his brother is among the 275 victims of India's deadliest rail crash this century, and that now he must identify his remains.

Like many of the relatives gathering here at the largest hospital in Bhubaneswar, Sheikh Sahagir travelled for hours overnight after hearing on TV about the crash involving three trains including the Coromandel Express, which his 20-year-old brother Sheikh Sahid Alam had travelling on board.

They first made their way to the site of Friday's crash at Balasore to look for him, "but after reaching the spot we were asked to visit hospitals, and from there officials directed us to visit AIIMS [hospital]", he says. Here the stench of rotten flesh fills the air as bodies at the mortuary - which does not have refrigeration - begin to decompose in the sweltering heat.

The Independent's Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports from the site of the horrific crash.

Train crash survivor: 'Suddenly everything went silent. And then there were screams'

The train crash in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured around 1200 passengers in a collision between two passengers and a freight train was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system.

Incorrect signalling caused one of the high-speed passenger trains to divert onto the wrong track and collide with the stationary freight train, before another high-speed passenger train on an adjacent track hit the derailed coaches of the first train, according to officials.

Jaya Verma Sinha, a senior railway official, said the preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the high-speed Coromandel Express to run on the main track line, but the signal later changed, and the train instead entered an adjacent loop line where it rammed into a freight loaded with iron ore.

The collision flipped Coromandel Express's coaches onto another track, causing the incoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the opposite side also to derail, she said.

The passenger trains, carrying 2,296 people in all, were not excessively speeding, she said. Trains that carry goods are often parked on an adjacent loop line so the main line is clear for a passing train.

Ms Verma said the root cause of the crash was related to an error in the electronic signalling system and a detailed investigation will reveal whether the error was human or technical.

Indian railways resumed passenger train services on the tracks that saw the deadliest train accident since the 1980s.

After more than 51 hours, the first train after the accident in Balasore, Odisha, kicked off its journey at around 10.40pm on Sunday, in a resumption of services overseen by railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and scores of people.

"Down-line restoration complete. First train movement in section," Mr Vaishnaw tweeted.

Despite restorations, two trains stood cancelled due to "non-availability of rake", according to latest bulletin by railways. Rake refers to the coupled coaches of a train, not including the engine.

Authorities said the resumption of services was the result of work on a "war footing" by 1,000 workers and railway officials through Saturday night and Sunday.

The mangled wreckage of the tree trains that collided on Friday evening was cleared after the dead bodies were removed and passengers were rescued to ready the tracks for a trial run.

"The way the prime minister came to this site and led us, inspired the team, it strengthened the team and they worked day and night on a war footing to restore the system in 51 hours. As you saw, three trains have gone and seven are planned in total tonight. We have to take it towards normalisation," the minister said.

"With full sympathy, those who lost their loved ones, we have to make sure their bodies reach them. Our obligation towards them is not over."

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the train crash in Odisha, India on Monday

lundi 5 juin 2023 13:02:14 Categories: The Independent

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