Thirty people were feared killed and 400 were injured when a passenger train hit the derailed coaches of another train in Odisha’s Balasore this evening. Many are feared trapped. A third freight train was also involved in the accident, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told NDTV.
12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, which was going from Kolkata to Chennai, rammed into the derailed coaches of the 12864 Yashwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, which was going from Bengaluru to Kolkata.
Three NDRF units, 4 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force units, over 15 fire rescue teams, 30 doctors, 200 police personnel and 60 ambulances have been mobilised to the site
Fifteen coaches of Coromandel Express came off the tracks, while two of the other train got derailed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the accident, and spoke with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to take stock of the situation.
Several people were trapped under the derailed coaches, and locals were assisting emergency services personnel to rescue them, as per several reports.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)