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Odisha mishap third major train accident in 3 decades; A look at past incidents
The railway accident in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening was unique as it involved three trains
At least 288 persons have died and over 900 injured in an accident involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening.
The 2841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express hit a goods train near Bahanagar Bazar Railway Station at about 6.55pm and 15 coaches of the train derailed. The 12864 Bengaluru – Howrah Superfast Express then hit the Coromandal express and derailed.
National Disaster Response Force director general Atul Karwal has said that this is one of the most tragic accidents in the country in terms of casualties. He said nine teams of NDRF are working at the spot and over 300 have been rescued so far.
“This is one of the most tragic accidents in terms of casualties. This accident was unique because three trains collided. The coaches were mangled because of the impact of the collision,” he said.
Also Read | Odisha train accident: How the Coromandel Express tragedy unfolded
“We hope to complete the rescue operations by today. We hope to find more live victims today. We are cutting the mangled remains of the coaches and ensuring that no harm is caused to the live victims inside,” he added.
Here’s a look at some of the major train accidents in India:
October 19, 2018: A train rammed into a Dusherra spectators in Punjab’s Amritsar killing 59 persons and injuring more than 100 persons.
November 20, 2016: The Pukhrayan train derailed when the 19321 Indore–Rajendra Nagar Express derailed 14 coaches at Pukhrayan, approximately 60 km (37 mi) from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, killing 152 and injuring more than 250 passengers.
May 28, 2010: The Jnaneswari Express train derailed when the Howrah–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Jnaneswari Super Deluxe Express hit the oncoming freight train between Khemashuli and Sardiha stations in Maharashtra, killing at least 140 and injuring about 200.
October 29, 2005: The Delta Fast Passenger train derailed where a small rail bridge had been swept away by a flash flood, near the town of Valigonda, Andhra Pradesh, killing at least 114 and injuring over 200
September 9, 2002: The Howrah Rajdhani Express derailed on a bridge between Gaya and Dehri-on-Sone stations in Bihar, with two coaches falling into a river, killing over 140.
August 2, 1999: At Gaisal station in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, Brahmaputra Mail collided into the stationary Avadh Express, killing at least 285 and injuring more than 300. The cause of the accident was said to be signalling error.
November 26, 1998: At Khanna in Punjab, the Jammu Tawi–Sealdah Express collided with three derailed coaches of the Frontier Golden Temple Mail, killing over 212 people.
August 5, 1997: Two Coromandel express trains collided with each other between Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Brahmapur in Odisha killing 75 persons. One was coming from Howrah and the other from Chennai. Two years later, on August 15, 1999, Coromandel Express train derailed at Dusi crossing near Nagavalli river killing 50 passengers.
August 20, 1995: The Purushottam Express collided with stationary Kalindi Express near Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, killing about 350 people. The accident happened at the time when most of the passengers were asleep on the train.
July 8, 1988: An express train derailed on the Peruman bridge over Ashtamudi Lake near Kollam in Kerala, killing 106 people. Ten carriages of the train fell into the water.
June 6, 1981: A train derailed and fell into river Bagmati river in Bihar while crossing a bridge, killing more than 300 people.
