Tangled wrecks of wagons overturned on their sides. One of them propelled towards the sky, precariously balanced on another… Impressive images. At least seven people were killed in eastern India on Monday after a collision between a passenger train and a goods convoy in the state of West Bengal, police said.
“We have confirmation of seven deaths and 39 passengers admitted to a hospital with injuries,” local police officer Iftikar-Ul-Hassan told AFP.
Looking for other bodies
Police said emergency workers were searching the cars twisted and deformed by the violence of the impact to ensure that no other bodies were trapped inside. “We have just seen the bodies of a driver and a guard who died… their bodies have been taken out,” said Rajesh Kumar Singh of the Railway Protection Force. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to “those who lost their loved ones”, in a message on social media, adding that “relief operations are underway”.
The chief minister of this state located in eastern India, Mamata Banerjee, described the accident as “tragic” in a message published on social networks. Work on this railway has been underway for almost 30 years and the official opening of this link is planned in the coming weeks.