Odisha train accident: Most horrific train mishap since 1995, over 250 dead

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the site of the Odisha train accident in Balasore and the Ministry of Railways has ordered a high-level probe to investigate the probable reasons for the accident. The government has also announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the families of those who have died, and ₹2 lakh for those seriously injured.

Odisha train accident: How to accident occurred?

The news agency ANI quoted the government sources and shared the details of the accident and said around 7:00 PM on Friday, the Coromandel Express train met with an accident and dashed with stationery goods train at Bahanaga Bazar station.

It was a high-intensity collision and the train was at full speed and was not supposed to stop at the station. With the collision, 21 coaches derailed with its 3 coaches infringing on the other line (Dn line).

Simultaneously, Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express was passing through Bahanaga Bazar station and collided with the two trains, and its rearmost 2 coaches were derailed, ANI said.

There were about 1257 reserved passengers onboard Coromandel Express and 1039 reserved passengers onboard Yashwantpur Express, the ANI report added.

Odisha train accident: Human error or technical glitch?

Most of the reports are blaming the Odisha train accident on human error as the train took the wrong track minutes before the tragedy. The video of the signaling control room shows that at the station, the 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express running at about 127 km per diverted onto the loop line from the main line. The goods train with which the Coromandel Express collided was parked at the loop line.

But, a retired railway official are also pointed towards the possible technical glitches and signaling issues involved in the Odisha train accident.

“Though the goods train was on the loop line of the railway station as per the signal panel kept in the station manager’s office, the last few bogies of it may still be physically present on the main line when Coromondal Express came rushing at 127 km per hour,” the former railway official told Hindustan Times on condition of anonymity.

Odisha train accident: Third worst train mishap in India

The Coromandel Express accident is the third most horrific train mishap in the history of Indian railways, with a death toll crossing 250. The worst train mishap was in 1981 when a train plunged into a river while crossing a bridge in Bihar. The death toll of the tragedy ranged between 800-1,000.

The second most horrific train mishap in India occurred in 1995, when two trains collided in Firozabad, near Agra, killing around 300 people.

Updated: 03 Jun 2023, 03:24 PM IST