Odisha Train Accident: Death toll climbs to 261, rescue operation ends

Balasore

The rescue operation has been completed at Odisha’s Balasore when a three-train crash left at least 261 passengers dead, the railway ministry said on June 3 afternoon.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was present at the site of India’s worst rail accidents in over two decades, announced an investigation into the horrific crash that took place at around 7 pm on June 2, a release said.

Initial reports and passenger accounts say that the Bengaluru -Howrah Superfast Express derailed and the Shalimar Chennai Central Coromandel Express crashed into the derailed coaches, leaving a mangled mess of coaches. The Coromandel Express also crashed into a parked goods train.

More than 900 passengers were injured as 17 coaches of the two passenger trains were damaged, reports said, as details for the crash remain sketchy.

Vaishnaw said the ministry would ensure that such accidents were not repeated, the release said.

The wrecked coaches were raised using large cranes and bulldozers. Rescue teams used electric cutters and gas torches to pull people out of the wreckage.