50 killed, 300 injured as trains collide in eastern India: Report

At least 50 people were killed and over 300 people injured as trains collided in Odisha state in eastern India, officials, and local media said on Friday evening.

A local news gathering agency Press Trust of India said 50 people died in the incident.

“So far more than 300 people have been reported to hospitals. The rescue operation will continue for the whole night,” Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told reporters on Friday night.

According to Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, the incident took place after a passenger train collided with a goods train in the state’s Balasore district on Friday evening.

Indian Railway authorities on Friday night announced compensation for the victims.

A massive rescue operation has been launched at the spot after the accident, according to the officials.

The chief minister of nearby West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, said that the Shalimar-Coromondel Express, carrying passengers from West Bengal, collided with a goods train on Friday evening. “Some of our outbound people have been seriously affected/injured,” she wrote on Twitter.

The country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.”