NEW DELHI, India —Rescuers ended a search for survivors as the death toll from a train crash that killed more than 260 people and injured hundreds more in one of the worst rail disasters in Indian history, officials said.
At least least 261 people died on Friday when two passenger trains derailed, trapping people under mangled coaches and flipped rail cars, according to an update from the South Eastern Railway company on Saturday afternoon.
Injured passengers had been transferred to local hospitals from the crash site in the Balasore district, in the eastern state of Odisha, about 137 miles southwest of Kolkata.
Earlier, Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of the Odisha fire department, said that at least 288 people had died and that some survivors were in a serious condition.
Tributes and condolences have poured in from world leaders and religious figures, including the Dalai Lama.
Hundreds of rescuers climbed over debris and cut through mangled steel to free survivors. They were assisted by medical and engineering teams from the Indian armed forces who were routed from multiple bases, an army spokesperson told Indian news agency ANI.
Prime minister Narendra Modi arrived at the crash site in Odisha on Saturday afternoon to review the situation. He said on Friday that “all possible assistance” was being given to those affected by the crash.
Vaishnaw added on Saturday that attempts were being made to clear the railway line to make way for restoration work, in a video released on Twitter by the ANI.
“The restoration work has started from one end, the most important thing right now is to clear the area and stay away from the machines deployed in the restoration process,” he said.
He added that the government would begin an investigation into the “root cause” of the accident.
There were about 1,257 reserved passengers on the Coromandal Express, of which between 10 and 12 cars derailed, and 1,039 reserved passengers on the Yashwantpur Express, which crashed into debris from the Coromandal Express and also derailed around 6.55 p.m. (9.25 a.m. ET) on Friday, a government spokesperson told the ANI.
Families of the dead will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000), while the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees ($2,400), with 50,000 rupees ($607) for minor injuries, Vaishnaw said on Twitter. Some state governments have also announced compensation.
Previous train accidents have been blamed on human error, or the use of outdated signaling equipment.
“I offer my condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones” said the Dalai Lama in a statement, adding that “as a mark of solidarity” his trust would make a donation to medical treatment and relief efforts.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “The images and reports of the train crash in Odisha, India break my heart. I’m sending my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones, and I’m keeping the injured in my thoughts. At this difficult time, Canadians are standing with the people of India.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs also offered condolences.
India’s worst rail accident so far happened in August 1995, when two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people.
In November 2016, more than 100 people were killed when 14 coaches of a passenger train rolled off the track in the country’s north.
Ravi Mishra reported from New Delhi, India, and Leila Sackur reported from London.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
