More than 280 killed in three-train crash in India's eastern Odisha state

At least 288 people have died and about 1,000 injured in India's worst rail accident in over two decades, officials said on Saturday, after a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one in the east of the country.

A drone view shows derailed coaches after two passenger trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. REUTERS - STRINGER

The three-train collision occurred in the district of Balasore in Odisha state at around 7 p.m. local time on Friday.

A passenger train derailed and its coaches fell on to an adjacent track. They were then struck by an incoming train. One of the trains also hit a freight train parked nearby.

An extensive search-and-rescue operation was mounted on Friday evening.

More than 200 ambulances and hundreds of medical and rescue personnel were sent to the scene, the Odisha state Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said.

Tragic accident

The cause of what is India's worst train crash this century is not yet known.

"It's a big, tragic accident," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after inspecting the accident spot.

The rescue operation to recover people from the wreckage has finished and the focus is now on restoring the site of the crash, India's South Eastern Railway company said on Saturday.

Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Friday, June 2, 2023. AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the scene, describing the incident as a "painful" one.

He also met the injured in hospital, and promised that his government would leave "no stone unturned for the treatment of those injured".

Families of the dead will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000), while the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees, with 50,000 rupees for minor injuries, Vaishnaw said. Some state governments have also announced compensation.

On Friday, hundreds of young people lined up outside a government hospital in Odisha's Soro to donate blood.

500 Units of blood collected overnight here at Balasore. 900 Units in stock at present. This will help in treating the accident victims. I’m personally indebted & grateful to all the volunteers who’ve donated blood for a noble cause. @DBalasore @CMO_Odisha @IPR_Odisha @SecyChief

— Pradeep Jena IAS (@PradeepJenaIAS) June 2, 2023

India's train network is one of the largest in the world, transporting over 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure.

The state has declared Saturday a day of state mourning as a mark of respect to the victims.

India's worst railway accident was in 1981 when a train plunged off a bridge into a river in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.