The identification of the victims of the serious train accident in India is progressing slowly. Corrected death toll from 288 to 275. Rail traffic is now running again. Police are investigating possible negligence.
A good 50 hours after the train disaster in India, rail traffic has started again on the accident route. According to the Department for Transport, the first vehicle on the route late Sunday evening was a freight train loaded with coal.
Meanwhile, the authorities officially corrected the number of dead from 288 to 275. The previously mentioned higher number can be explained by the fact that some victims were erroneously counted twice. It was also said that 382 of the 1,175 injured were still being treated in hospital. It is feared that the death toll could continue to rise due to overwhelmed medical facilities and serious injuries.
Relatives are waiting identification the victim
Meanwhile, the identification of the victims is progressing slowly. It takes place in a hospital in Bhubaneswar, about 200 kilometers from the scene of the accident. Desperate relatives are queuing in front of the building. Two large screens show photos of the dead, each with a number. According to the AP news agency, many of the bodies are severely disfigured. The bereaved try to identify their relatives based on their clothing.
Investigations into possible negligence
After the serious train accident, the police are investigating possible criminal negligence. A railway authority recommended this to the police, local media reported. According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the cause of the accident was probably a fault in the electrical signal. The political opposition accused the government of drawing attention to a possible criminal background instead of taking responsibility for safety problems at the railway. She called on the railway minister to resign.
Three trains collided in the east Indian state of Odisha near the city of Balasore on Friday. The collision is considered one of the deadliest rail accidents in Indian history. As the newspaper “Times of India” reported, citing the preliminary results of the investigation, an express train crashed into a parked freight train. Three wagons were thrown onto nearby tracks and hit the back of another express train.