STORY: In the broad daylight of Saturday, the carnage from what is believed to be India’s worst train disaster in at least two decades is now plain to see, with hundreds killed, hundreds more injured, and involving three trains.
Bodybags line the railway and the death toll is expected to keep rising.
Rescuers worked through the night deploying hundreds of ambulances and doctors to the city of Balasore, in the state of Odisha.
Local residents are also jumping in. Ganesh is one of them. He says he was in a market Friday evening when he heard a loud bang. When he saw the trains had collided he rushed to pull out as many people as he could.
At a hospital, hundreds have lined up to give blood donations. This volunteer, named Samarandan Das, says there is no greater joy than to help save someone’s life with a donation.
The incident happened at about 7:00 pm on Friday when a passenger train, the Howrah Superfast Express, derailed and hit another, the Coromandel Express. One of those then hit a freight train that was parked nearby.
It’s not immediately clear what caused the incident, but the country’s railway minister who visited the site says the immediate focus remains on rescue efforts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also visiting.
The state of Odisha has declared a day of mourning.
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