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As many as 50 people are presumed dead and hundreds more have been injured in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, where two trains derailed on Friday. It’s believed that 10 to 12 coaches of one train derailed and, as a result, some of the debris then encroached on a nearby track where it was hit by another train, according to Indian news outlets quoting railroad ministry spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, as carried by The Times of India. The accident, which has deeply shaken the country, was captured on video. Fifty ambulances were dispatched, along with teams of doctors to treat the injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered his condolences on Twitter. Previous concerns had been expressed over the safety of India’s transport network, with more than 27,000 train-related deaths recorded in 2014. A dramatic increase in investment was recommended to upgrade infrastructure and end the use of outdated rolling stock.
India’s railways carry over 13 million people a day, according to Indian Railways, but a committee in 2012 raised concerns over passenger safety, with a particular focus on inadequate performance due to poor infrastructure and a lack of resources. In recent years, transport safety has come under considerable scrutiny in India, after 27 people died in two separate passenger coach accidents last year.
