Tragic railway accident in India

ANI news agency reported yesterday (June 3) that the tragic accident occurred at around 7 p.m. on June 2 (local time) in Balasore district of Odisha state in eastern India, involving two passenger trains and one freight train. Accordingly, some coaches of the Howrah Superfast Express passenger train, en route to Howrah city in West Bengal state, derailed and fell onto the adjacent track. A few minutes later, the Coromandel Express passenger train running in the opposite direction on the parallel track hit the overturned coaches of the Howrah Superfast Express, causing 12 Coromandel Express coaches to derail and hit the stationary freight train on the third track.

Nearly 300 dead, hundreds of ambulances at the scene of Indian train crash

The death toll could rise

Images from the scene of the accident showed mangled, torn carriages and bloodstains in Balasore. A video from the evening of June 2 showed rescuers climbing into one of the overturned carriages to search for survivors, while passengers cried for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.

"I was sleeping. I was woken up by the noise of the derailed train. Suddenly, I saw 10-15 dead people. I tried to get out of the carriage and then I saw a lot of bodies," NDTV quoted a survivor as saying.

Train coaches derailed in the accident at Balasore on June 2.

At the scene of the accident, Odisha Fire Service Director General Sudhanshu Sarangi said yesterday that the death toll was 288 but that the number could rise to as high as 380, according to AFP. In addition, Pradeep Jena, a senior Odisha official, confirmed on the same day that about 900 injured people had been hospitalized. Hundreds of young people lined up outside a hospital in Balasore on the evening of June 2 to donate blood for the victims.

A massive search and rescue operation has been launched, involving hundreds of fire and police personnel as well as sniffer dogs. Meanwhile, Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that a detailed high-level investigation will be conducted and the railway safety commissioner will also conduct an independent inquiry, according to ANI.

The most serious accident since 1995

Shortly after the accident, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was "saddened by the train accident" and "wished for the speedy recovery of the injured." Later, Minister Vaishnaw announced that the families of those who died would receive 1 million rupees (nearly 284 million VND), those seriously injured would receive 200,000 rupees and those with minor injuries would be given 50,000 rupees, according to Reuters.

The governments of several countries, including Japan, Nepal, and the United States, yesterday expressed their condolences to the government and people of India.

The collision on the evening of June 2 was the deadliest rail accident in India since 1995, when two trains collided in the Firozabad district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, killing more than 300 people, according to AFP. The worst rail accident in India to date was in 1981, when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in the eastern state of Bihar and plunged into a river below, killing between 800 and 1,000 people.

Vietnamese leaders offer condolences

On June 3, President Vo Van Thuong sent a condolence message to President Droupadi Murmu after hearing about the train accident in Odisha state, Republic of India, which occurred on June 2, killing and injuring many people. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a condolence message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son sent a condolence message to Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

VNA

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