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Coromandel Express went on wrong track minutes before accident, say officials

By, Debabrata Mohanty
Jun 03, 2023 01:16 PM IST

The Coromandel express train running at a speed of 127 km/per hour collided with a goods train and derailed on the main line, an official said

The Coromandel Express train accident in Balasore district of Odisha, in which close to 300 persons have died, may have been the result of human error since the train took the wrong track minutes before the tragedy, according to initial reports from the signalling control room of the railways.

Close to 300 persons have died in the Coromandel Express train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district. (PTI Photo)
Close to 300 persons have died in the Coromandel Express train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district. (PTI Photo)

To be sure, the cause of the accident will only be identified after a thorough examination.

According to a video from the signalling control room of Kharagpur division of the Railways, the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express derailed on the main line and hit the goods train parked on the loop line just after crossing Bahanagar Bazar station at about 6.55pm on Friday.

HT has seen the video, which shows four railway tracks including two main lines and two loop lines.

Also Read |Odisha mishap third major train accident in 3 decades; A look at past incidents

The Coromandel Express, running at about 127 km per hour, collided with the goods train and derailed on the main line, an official from the railway ministry said. Within minutes of the collision, the official cited above said that the Howrah-bound Yashwantnagar Express coming from the opposite side collided with the Coromandel Express.

“How it happened and why it happened, will be found in the detailed inquiry that the railway board has ordered. But, prima facie it appears to be a human error,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.

According to the same official, a similar accident occurred in 1995 in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, where three trains collided. Around 350 persons were killed in that accident and the rescue operations went on for three days.

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