Over 300 injured as trains collide in eastern India

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Over 300 people got injured as trains collided in Odisha state in eastern India, officials said on Friday evening.

“So far more than 300 people have been reported to hospitals. There are two passenger trains and one good train involved in the incident,” Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told local broadcaster NDTV.

According to Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, the incident took place after a passenger train collided with a goods train in the state’s Balasore district on Friday evening.

A massive rescue operation has been launched at the spot after the accident, according to the officials.

The chief minister of nearby West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, said that the Shalimar-Coromondel Express, carrying passengers from West Bengal, collided with a goods train on Friday evening. “Some of our outbound people have been seriously affected/injured,” she wrote on Twitter.

The country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.”