Death toll due to worst train accident in India in two decades nears 300 – live

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the site of the train accident in which nearly 300 people have died, news agency ANI reported, citing sources.

The tragedy killed more than 280 people and trapped hundreds of others inside over a dozen damaged rail cars.

Rescue operations at the site have been completed, according to Reuters.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik reached the site of the accident to take stock of the situation.

Mr Modi earlier tweeted, expressing his condolences to bereaved families.

“Distressed by the train accident in Odisha,” he wrote on Twitter.

“In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” the Indian prime minister said.

Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau expressed his “deepest condolences” to those who lost loved ones in India’s deadliest train accident of the century which has seen over 200 people killed.

“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,” Mr Trudeau tweeted.

“At this difficult time, Canadians are standing with the people of India,” he said.

At least 48 trains have been cancelled following the railway tragedy in Odisha where nearly 300 people were killed.

According to a railways spokesperson, at least 39 trains have been diverted and 10 have been short-terminated.

More than 100 people have also claimed their ex-gratia payments, the spokesperson said.

Aerial visuals from Indian news agency ANI’s drone camera shed light on the extent of damage at the accident site.

The death toll due to the incident, in which two passenger trains collided in India’s Odisha state, has increased close to 300.

The collision, which is the deadliest of the century, occurred at about 19:00 local time on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express, running from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, collided with the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai.

Some reports suggest a freight train was also involved in the crash.

The Indian prime minister expressed his condolonces on Friday to the victims of a massive train derailment in Odisha.

“Distressed by the train accident in Odisha,” he wrote on Twitter. “In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.”

US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti tweeted his condolences to the families of passengers who lost their lives due to the train collision. “On behalf of the U.S. Mission in India, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic train accident in Balasore,” Mr Garcetti tweeted.

“We stand with India and the people of Odisha in this time of grief,” he said.

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong also expressed her “deepest sympathies” following the accident.

“Our thoughts are also with the many injured, and with the emergency personnel working to assist them,” Ms Wong tweeted.

The accident occurred yesterday at about 19:00 local time when the Howrah Superfast Express, running from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, collided with the Coromandel Express that runs from Kolkata to Chennai.

It remains unclear which train derailed first to become entangled with the other and authorities are investigating the incident further.

Some local media reports suggest a freight train was also involved in the crash.

Previous reports had warned that loco pilots in India were working prolonged hours due to an acute shortage of manpower, highlighting this factor as one reason accidents were increasing across the rail network.

People queue up at hospitals in Balasore city in the Indian state of Odisha to donate blood for survivors of the horrific train accident yesterday.

The accident, in which one train got derailed and was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, has left over 233 dead and over 900 injured.

India‘s prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was “distressed” by the incident and that “all possible assistance” is being given to those affecte

At least 233 people were killed and 900 are injured in India after a passenger train derailed and collided with a goods train in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday, according to reports.

Rescue operations were underway at the site and “all possible assistance” is being given to those affected, India‘s prime minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet today.

The collision is a “grave accident”, H K Dwivedi, West Bengal’s chief secretary told reporters. South Eastern Railway officials, who did not want to be named, said they fear heavy casualties, without disclosing the number of deaths.

Joe Middleton is following the story for The Independent.

As morning dawns on Odisha’s Balasore district, video shows the site of a massive train derailment in India that killed and wounded hundreds of people on Friday.

The clip, from ANI, shows the wreckage of multiple locomotives surrounded by numerous emergency personnel and bystanders.