The number of people killed has reached 207 after a collision between two passenger trains in Odisha, India, this Friday (2), according to local authorities. The total number of injured now exceeds 900.
The Indian government treats the occurrence as the deadliest rail accident in the country in more than a decade.
The death toll is expected to rise, Chief Secretary of State Pradeep Jena said in a tweet.
Footage from the scene shows rescuers clambering over the twisted wreckage of one of the trains in search of survivors.
“I was there at the scene and I could see blood, broken limbs and people dying around me,” a witness told the agency “Reuters” by telephone.
Rescue teams have been mobilized from Bhubaneswar, in Odisha, and Kolkata, in West Bengal, according to Federal Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The collision took place around 7 pm local time when the Howrah Superfast Express, which was traveling from Bangalore to Howrah in West Bengal, derailed and collided with the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, railway officials said.
Rescue operations were ongoing at the site and “all possible assistance” is being given to those affected, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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