Hundreds Dead, Nearly 1,000 Injured in India Train Crash
VOA NEWS
Nearly 300 people have died in a massive train derailment in India that has injured close to 900 people, officials say.
India has declared Saturday a national day of mourning out of respect to the victims.
Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, told Agence France-Presse that there are “a lot of serious injuries.”
The accident happened Friday night about 220 kilometers south of Kolkata.
Emergency workers had to climb overturned train cars to rescue some victims, while other rescuers cut through the trains’ cars to provide emergency services.
Authorities say at least three multicar trains were involved in the derailment accident.
People who lived near the accident rushed to the site to help in the rescue efforts.
Train accidents are a frequent occurrence in India due to the railways’ aging infrastructure. More than 12 million people ride thousands of trains across the country every day.
