Odisha train accident: Safety should always be Railways first priority, Opposition says

At least 288 passengers were killed and over 900 were injured in the accident in Odisha's Balasore.

Jun 3, 2023 - 21:30

Odisha train accident: Safety should always be Railways first priority, Opposition says

Expressing shock and grief at the train accident in Odisha, Opposition parties on Saturday said that serious questions need answers from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.

At least 288 passengers have been killed and around 900 were injured in the crash involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday.

The accident, one of India’s worst train disasters, occurred at around 7 pm in when two coaches of the Yashwantpur-Howrah Express derailed near the Bahanaga Railway Station near Balasore. The derailed coaches came in the path of the speeding Coromandel Express on the adjoining track and collided with it. A goods train was also hit in the process.

VIDEO | Aerial view of the accident site in Odisha's Balasore district where a train crash involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred yesterday evening. #OdishaTrainTragedy pic.twitter.com/187XQOofdN— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 3, 2023

Visuals shared on social media showed upturned train cars and people attempting to pull survivors from the wreck.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that a detailed high-level investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the accident. Media reports, however, said that the Railways was looking at a signalling error as the possible cause of the accident.

On Saturday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that he has instructed...