Odisha: Express train derails near Bahanaga station, 132 injured

Around 132 injured people were brought to Soro, Gopalpur, and Khantapada community and primary health centers after a Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express train collided with a cargo train on Friday in Odisha, the state's Chief Secretary said. Per reports, the 12841 Coromandel Express derailed around 7:20pm after colliding with a goods train near Bahanaga Station in Balasore. No casualties have been reported so far.

The first squad of 22 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) members has arrived at the scene from Balasore Railway Station (BLS), per ANI. An additional 32-member Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) team had begun work half-hour earlier. Meanwhile, several videos of the accident are currently circulating on social media, with some allegedly showing bodies strewn about as personnel and locals search for and rescue passengers.

The train left the Shalimar station in West Bengal at 3:30pm and arrived at the Balasore station at 6:30pm, according to Hindustan Times. It was scheduled to arrive at the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station in Chennai at 4:50pm on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI following the accident, Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said that another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah dashed into those derailed coaches after some time, resulting in the derailment of its three-four coaches. "At around 7:00pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track," he said.