288 Dead and Hundreds Injured in Three-Train Collision in India

Officials confirmed that at least 288 people have died and hundreds more injured in a tragic rail accident in India. The collision involved three trains and is the country’s most significant rail disaster in more than two decades.

Survivor Accounts

One survivor, Arjun, recounted his experience to a Bangladeshi TV channel, stating that he heard a sound similar to thunder before witnessing people falling from the top bunks. He added that he saw people shouting for assistance while the wounded lay everywhere inside the wagons and along the tracks. The harrowing scenes left him with a desire to forget.

Explorer Anupaf Das was on the last carriage of the second train when he heard terrible creaking sounds coming from afar. He managed to jump out safely, but he saw mutilated bodies and a man who had his arm cut off while his wounded son tried to help him. Das stated that he didn’t have time to count the bodies until he left the scene, and now he has a kind of guilt.

How the Disaster Happened

The tragedy began when a northbound express train travelling from Bangalore to Calcutta derailed and fell onto parallel tracks designed for travel to the south. Shortly after, the Coromndal Express, en route from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with the wreckage of another train. Several carriages crashed into a freight train parked nearby.

Death Toll and Injuries

The death toll currently stands at 288, but officials believe it will rise to 380. Following the incident, about 900 injured people were transported to various hospitals in Odisha.