Mourning and Shock after Train Disaster in India
At least 280 people dead and over 900 injured: The preliminary balance after the worst train accident in decades in India is devastating. Even a day after the catastrophe, it is unclear what exactly happened. The collided, overturned carriages lie crosswise on the tracks. The debris piles up meters high. Compartments are torn open, windows shattered. Rescue teams are trying to gain access to the interior to recover victims. More than 1,000 people are in action. Onlookers film the dramatic scene with their cell phones.
Eyewitness Reports Chaos after the Accident
An eyewitness reported shortly after the accident how chaos suddenly broke out when the train derailed. “I had just fallen asleep when the train overturned. I noticed that ten to 15 passengers had fallen onto my body in my compartment. I was at the bottom. My arm was injured. When I got out of the carriage, I saw that some people were missing their hands. Some legs and heads were injured.”
Another eyewitness from the Indian state of Bihar also still shows shock on his face in the morning. He was on the train to take his children to study in Kerala. “The train flew off the track and overturned. We had to pull people out of the windows. At that time, there was no help.”
Commission to Investigate the Accident Process
The injured were taken to surrounding hospitals. Emergency rooms were quickly overcrowded. People queued up to donate blood. In the accident in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, apparently an express train from Kolkata derailed shortly before 7 p.m. A fast train from the opposite direction collided minutes later, it is said. A freight train was also hit. The exact course of the accident is still being discussed.
India’s railway minister Ashwin Vaishnaw visited the accident site in the morning. He announced the establishment of a commission to investigate the cause of the accident. “At the moment, the focus is on rescue operations. We are trying to ensure that those who have suffered serious injuries are taken to hospitals for treatment and that their relatives are informed,” the minister said. “That is where our entire focus lies.”
Day of Mourning Declared in Odisha State
The head of the Indian disaster response agency, Atul Karwal, speaks of a major disaster. Many carriages were crushed with great force. That is why it is difficult to penetrate the carriages, especially when there are still living victims inside. “We have to work very carefully so that they are not injured. We hope that we can finish our work before sunset and recover the last living victim and corpse,” says Karwal.
Today was declared a day of mourning in the eastern Indian state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Odisha to speak with the injured. Shortly after the accident, Modi promised compensation for surviving dependents and seriously injured.
India’s railway system, with its old trains and tracks, is considered quite dilapidated in many parts. The train accident yesterday evening is the worst in India for more than 20 years.