In one of India’s deadliest rail accidents in decades, nearly 300 people were killed and many more injured in the crash in the Balasore district of eastern Odisha state.
The rail smash in eastern India was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system which led to a train wrongly changing tracks, the railways minister said on Sunday.
‘Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation,’ Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with New Delhi Television network.
The train entered another line, known as the loop line, and crashed into a goods train parked there, PTI said.
Chaotic scenes erupted on Friday night as rescuers climbed on top of the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches to try to save people who were trapped inside the carriages.
Fifteen bodies were recovered on Saturday evening and efforts continued overnight as heavy cranes were used to remove an engine that had settled on top of a rail car.
No bodies were found in the engine and the work was completed on Sunday morning, said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director-general of fire and emergency services in Odisha.
Ten to 12 coaches of one train derailed, and debris from some of the mangled coaches fell on to a nearby track.
The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, causing up to three coaches of the second train to also derail, said a rail ministry spokesman.
The TV channel’s Asia Correspondent, Cordelia Lynch, spoke to one of the survivors who said his leg is broken and hurts, so he is unable to walk.
The 24-year-old said: ‘My legs hurt, I can’t walk, it’s broken and hurts a lot. It’s broken. My arms are cut, my body is hurt, head is hurt.’
Recalling the incident, he said: ‘We were standing near the doors. The two carriages crashed us. There were four of us.’
