Odisha train accident: Special trains ferry relatives of affected passengers to Balasore

288 people were killed and more than 1100 injured on Friday as three trains collided in Odisha's Balasore area. As rescue operations wind down, the Indian railways is now running special trains special trains to ferry family members to the accident site. Restoration work is also underway and a probe has been launched into the incident.

“SER has run one Special train from Howrah to Balasore at 16.00 hrs today to carry the relatives of the affected passengers. Railway is taking every initiative to complete the restoration work. Meanwhile, a High level inquiry has been ordered into the accident,” read a notice from the South Eastern Circle of Indian Railways.

The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express is believed to have crashed into a stationary goods train at around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. Meanwhile the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express had crashed into the derailed compartments soon after the initial crash. 

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The two trains had been travelling at a high speed and carried around 2,000 passengers on board. Seventeen coaches were derailed and severely damaged in the collision, trapping hundreds of passengers.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that a signal was given to Coromandel Express to enter the main line but it was taken off and the train entered the loop line, where it crashed into a goods train parked there.

While sources had earlier said a signalling failure could be the reason behind the crash, railway officials said it is not yet clear if Coromandel Express entered the loop line and hit the stationary goods train or it first derailed and then hit the parked train after entering the loop line.

As the nation mourned the massive tragedy, several states and parties cancelled their programmes and condolences poured in from across the world.

(With inputs from agencies)