"Within Seconds We Saw So Many Dead, Injured": Odisha Train Tragedy Survivor

A passenger, who was on board the Coromandel Express that was involved in a horrific accident in Odisha's Balasore on Friday recalls the moment and said that such a situation brings out the scariest part of you.

Speaking to ANI about the incident, the survivor named Anubhav Das, a resident of Cuttack said that he is a PhD student and was travelling back to Cuttack from Kolkata and was present in the last coach of the train due to which he was not impacted by the derailment.

He informed that at the time of the incident, the speed of Coromandel Express was about 110-115 kmph, it was moving smoothly but suddenly the accident occurred.

Recalling the nervous minutes leading up to the derailment of coaches, the survivor said, "Within a span of 30-40 seconds we see so many people injured, dead and cries of help everywhere. Such a situation brings out the scariest part of you."

He also requested the authorities to have a detailed inquiry of the incident and said that if there is any work of miscreants behind the incident then that has to be found out.

"If there is any work of miscreants behind the incident that claimed more than 250 lives then that has to be found out," he said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore has climbed to 288, Indian Railways said on Saturday.

"As of 2 pm today, the death toll in the Odisha train crash has risen to 288 while 747 people have been injured along with 56 grievously injured," Indian Railways said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the train crash site in Odisha's Balasore. He was accompanied by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Odisha's Balasore district. 

According to the Odisha Government's Special Relief Commissioner's office 17 coaches of the two trains had derailed and were severely damaged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)