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Indian railway crash caused by error in signaling system, officials say

Due to an error in the electronic signaling system, train derailment accident About 300 people have been killed in India and hundreds more injured, officials said on Sunday. Due to this mistake, the train mistakenly changed tracks and collided with a freight train in Orissa, eastern India, causing a tragic pile-up involving a second passenger train.

Authorities worked to remove the dismembered wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in one of the worst railway accidents in decades in the Balasore district of Orissa on Friday night. .

A statement by the Orissa government revised the death toll to 275 on Sunday. More than 850 other people were injured as of Saturday night, officials said. The Indian army assisted police, the National Disaster Response Force and other rescue teams in the search for survivors early Saturday morning.

“I don’t really expect to be able to rescue a living person,” Orissa fire chief Sudhansh Sarangi told reporters on Saturday morning. Footage from the crash site showed bodies lined up along the railroad tracks while authorities rushed injured survivors to hospitals. Orissa chief secretary Pradeep Jena said more than 200 ambulances were in operation at the time.

Rescue workers carry the bodies of victims at the site of a passenger train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 3, 2023.
Rescue workers carry the bodies of victims at the site of a passenger train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 3, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool


A senior railway official, Jaya Verma Sinha, said preliminary investigations had shown that the high-speed Coromandel Express had been signaled to run on the main line, but then the signal changed and the train instead entered the adjacent loop line. said. It rammed into a cargo laden with iron ore.

The collision caused the Coromandel Express carriage to fall onto another track, and derailed the Yesvanpur-Howrah Express coming in from the other side.

The passenger train carrying 2,296 people was not overspeeding. Freight trains often stop at adjacent loop lines so that the main line remains free for passing trains.

Verma said the root cause of the accident was related to an error in the electronic signaling system. He said further investigation would reveal whether the error was human or technical.

People watch at the site of a train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.
People watch at the site of a train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool


The electronic interlocking system is a safety device to prevent collisions between trains. It also monitors the status of signals that let drivers know how close the next train is, how fast it can go, and whether any trains are on the track.

“The system is 99.9% error free, but there is always a 0.1% chance of an error,” says Verma. When asked if her crash was a possible act of sabotage, she replied, “Nothing is ruled out.”

On Sunday, several wrecked carriages were torn apart and overturned, the only remains of the tragedy. Under the glare of the sun, railroad workers struggled to lay cement blocks to repair broken tracks. Workers with excavators were clearing the crash site, removing mud and debris.

At one of the hospitals, about nine miles from the scene, survivors described their horror at the moment of the crash.

Pantry employee Inder Mahat could not recall the exact sequence of events, but said he heard a loud bang as the Coromandel Express hit the cargo. Mahat, who was in the bathroom, lost consciousness for a moment due to the impact.

After a while he opened his eyes to see people writhing in agony through the forced open door, many of them already dead. Others were desperately trying to escape the twisted wreckage of his railcar.

Mahat, 37, remained trapped in a train toilet for hours until rescuers piled up the wreckage and pulled him out.

“God saved me,” he said as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from a hairline fracture to his sternum. “I am very lucky to be alive.”

Mahat’s friends were not so lucky. Four of them died in the accident.

People look at a photograph of passengers on a derailed train to identify themselves in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.
People look at a photograph of passengers on a derailed train to identify themselves in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool


Meanwhile, many desperate relatives struggled to identify the bodies of their loved ones due to the severity of their injuries. Few sought hospitals to see if relatives were alive.

At the same hospital where Mahat was recovering from her injuries, Burti Katun dazedly wandered around the premises, holding her husband’s ID, who was on the Coromandel Express bound for southern Chennai city.

Khatun said he had visited and searched morgues and other hospitals, but had not been found.

“I am so helpless,” she cried.

Fifteen bodies were recovered on Saturday evening and operations continued overnight, including using a large crane to remove the engine placed on top of the vehicle. No bodies were found inside the engine and the work was completed on Sunday morning, said Sudhansh Sarangi, director of the Orissa Fire and Emergency Department.

The accident comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi focuses on modernizing the British colonial rail network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people. Despite government efforts to improve safety, Indian railways, the world’s largest railway network under a single administration, still experience hundreds of accidents each year.

Modi visited the crash site on Saturday and spoke with rescue officials. He also visited the hospital to inquire about the status of the wounded and spoke with some of them.

Modi told reporters he felt the pain of the crash victims. He said the government will do everything in its power to help them and will severely punish those found responsible.

In 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi in one of India’s worst rail accidents, killing 358 people. In 2016, a passenger train slid off the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people.

Most of these accidents in India are attributed to human error and outdated signaling equipment.

About 22 million people board 14,000 trains every day, traveling 40,000 miles of track across India.

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Due to an error in the electronic signaling system, train derailment accident About 300 people have been killed in India and hundreds more injured, officials said on Sunday. Due to this mistake, the train mistakenly changed tracks and collided with a freight train in Orissa, eastern India, causing a tragic pile-up involving a second passenger train.Authorities worked to remove the dismembered wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in one of the worst railway accidents in decades in the Balasore district of Orissa on Friday night. .A statement by the Orissa government revised the death toll to 275 on Sunday. More than 850 other people were injured as of Saturday night, officials said. The Indian army assisted police, the National Disaster Response Force and other rescue teams in the search for survivors early Saturday morning.

“I don’t really expect to be able to rescue a living person,” Orissa fire chief Sudhansh Sarangi told reporters on Saturday morning. Footage from the crash site showed bodies lined up along the railroad tracks while authorities rushed injured survivors to hospitals. Orissa chief secretary Pradeep Jena said more than 200 ambulances were in operation at the time.

Rescue workers carry the bodies of victims at the site of a passenger train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 3, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool

A senior railway official, Jaya Verma Sinha, said preliminary investigations had shown that the high-speed Coromandel Express had been signaled to run on the main line, but then the signal changed and the train instead entered the adjacent loop line. said. It rammed into a cargo laden with iron ore.

The collision caused the Coromandel Express carriage to fall onto another track, and derailed the Yesvanpur-Howrah Express coming in from the other side.The passenger train carrying 2,296 people was not overspeeding. Freight trains often stop at adjacent loop lines so that the main line remains free for passing trains.Verma said the root cause of the accident was related to an error in the electronic signaling system. He said further investigation would reveal whether the error was human or technical.

People watch at the site of a train derailment in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool

The electronic interlocking system is a safety device to prevent collisions between trains. It also monitors the status of signals that let drivers know how close the next train is, how fast it can go, and whether any trains are on the track.

“The system is 99.9% error free, but there is always a 0.1% chance of an error,” says Verma. When asked if her crash was a possible act of sabotage, she replied, “Nothing is ruled out.”On Sunday, several wrecked carriages were torn apart and overturned, the only remains of the tragedy. Under the glare of the sun, railroad workers struggled to lay cement blocks to repair broken tracks. Workers with excavators were clearing the crash site, removing mud and debris.At one of the hospitals, about nine miles from the scene, survivors described their horror at the moment of the crash.Pantry employee Inder Mahat could not recall the exact sequence of events, but said he heard a loud bang as the Coromandel Express hit the cargo. Mahat, who was in the bathroom, lost consciousness for a moment due to the impact.After a while he opened his eyes to see people writhing in agony through the forced open door, many of them already dead. Others were desperately trying to escape the twisted wreckage of his railcar.Mahat, 37, remained trapped in a train toilet for hours until rescuers piled up the wreckage and pulled him out.”God saved me,” he said as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from a hairline fracture to his sternum. “I am very lucky to be alive.”

Mahat’s friends were not so lucky. Four of them died in the accident.

People look at a photograph of passengers on a derailed train to identify themselves in the Balasore district of Orissa, eastern India, on June 4, 2023.

AP Photo/Rafic Maqbool

Meanwhile, many desperate relatives struggled to identify the bodies of their loved ones due to the severity of their injuries. Few sought hospitals to see if relatives were alive.At the same hospital where Mahat was recovering from her injuries, Burti Katun dazedly wandered around the premises, holding her husband’s ID, who was on the Coromandel Express bound for southern Chennai city.Khatun said he had visited and searched morgues and other hospitals, but had not been found.”I am so helpless,” she cried.Fifteen bodies were recovered on Saturday evening and operations continued overnight, including using a large crane to remove the engine placed on top of the vehicle. No bodies were found inside the engine and the work was completed on Sunday morning, said Sudhansh Sarangi, director of the Orissa Fire and Emergency Department.The accident comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi focuses on modernizing the British colonial rail network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people. Despite government efforts to improve safety, Indian railways, the world’s largest railway network under a single administration, still experience hundreds of accidents each year.

Modi visited the crash site on Saturday and spoke with rescue officials. He also visited the hospital to inquire about the status of the wounded and spoke with some of them.Modi told reporters he felt the pain of the crash victims. He said the government will do everything in its power to help them and will severely punish those found responsible. In 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi in one of India’s worst rail accidents, killing 358 people. In 2016, a passenger train slid off the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people. Most of these accidents in India are attributed to human error and outdated signaling equipment.About 22 million people board 14,000 trains every day, traveling 40,000 miles of track across India.

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