A Coromandel Express train travelling between Kolkata and Chennai collided with an oncoming Howrah Superfast Express passenger train travelling in the opposite direction. The accident occurred near the railway station at Bahanaga village, about 10 km south of Balasore. As a result of the incident, some of the coaches were derailed.
According to Amitabh Sharma, Director of Indian Railways, two passenger trains were involved in the accident, while a third - a goods wagon - was in the area of the incident.
"The number of fatalities and injuries is very difficult to assess as many passengers are likely to be trapped in the wrecked coaches," Amitabh Sharma said.
"More than 200 ambulances have been sent to the site, but due to the large number of injured, buses are also being used to transport them," said Pradeep Jena, a representative of the Orissa state government.
The scale of the accident is such that the army and a large number of volunteers have been called in to help with the rescue operation.
"We have prepared all public and private hospitals, from the crash site to the state capital, to treat the injured. Hundreds of youths have queued up outside the Soro government hospital in Odisha to donate blood," said a spokesman for the state government.
This article was originally published on our sister publication sektorkolejowy.pl by Damian Malesza.
