Witnesses and officials told local media that the Coromandel Express pas­senger train and a goods train collided near Balas­ore, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar. The Press Trust of India reported that around 50 people were “feared dead,” citing unnamed officials. “At least 28 people are con­firmed dead and around 300 are injured,” Anil Ku­mar Mohanty, a medical of­ficer in Balasore, told AFP. Local news channels said that the num­ber of injured passengers had surpassed 300. SK Pan­da, a spokesperson in Jena’s office in Odisha state, told AFP that the casualties as well as the situation on the ground was “not yet clear as it is a heavy accident”.

Source: The Nation June 03, 2023 03:02 UTC