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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his condolences on the collision between passenger trains in Odisha, India, on Jun. 2 2023.
In the letter, he wrote,
"It was with great sadness that I learnt about the horrific train derailment in Balasore, Odisha, on Jun. 2 2023.
On behalf of the Government of Singapore, I extend my heartfelt condolences to you and the affected families. Our thoughts are with you and the people of India."
Three train crash due to signal fault
As reported widely by various Indian and international media, the accident happened around 7pm local time between three trains — the Howrah Superfast Express heading to Howrah in West Bengal from Bengaluru, the Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai and a train carrying goods.
According to the Indian media Dainik Bhaskar, a preliminary report by railway officials found that the Coromandel Express entered a loop line instead of the main line due to a signal fault.
The failure to enter the main line caused it to crash head-on with the stationary goods train at 128 km/h.
The wreckage of the Coromandel Express then fell on the adjacent track, which caused the Howrah Superfast Express to crash 10 mins later at a speed of 116km/h.
Image via Dainik Bhaskar
275 dead, 1175 injured
Initial reports put the death toll at 288, but Odisha State Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena clarified on Jun. 4, 2023, that the actual number is 275 as some deaths had been double counted.
The number of people injured stood at 1175, with 793 discharged when he made the statement.
Efforts to clean up the wreckages were ongoing, and it was challenging for the authorities to identify the deceased and injured.
Photos had been put out physically and on social media to call for their family members.
Image via Dainik Bhaskar
"So much chaos here"
BBC India interviewed a man named Suryaveer, who said his mother and grandmother were on the train to buy medicine in the city.
He found his grandmother a few hours after the accident but couldn't find his mother despite them both looking everywhere.
The next morning, he received bad news when his friend sent him a photo of his mother.
He hopes to be able to bring her body back home safely.
"But there is so much chaos here - there are no trains, and the roads are all jammed."
Image via Dainik Bhaskar
Opposition calls for Railway Minister's resignation
India's PM Modi arrived at the collision scene to see recovery efforts and met the injured at the hospitals.
Dainik Bhaskar reported that he said that "whoever is guilty of the accident will not be spared".
According to the Indian media Dainik Jagran's report, Priyanka Gandhi, a General Secretary of the opposition party, Indian National Congress, asked for more accountability for the accident and demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
When asked by reporters from Asian News International (ANI) on national TV, Vaishnaw replied to calls for his resignation, "This is not the time to do politics, but time to focus on restoration work."
Top image via Dainik Bhaskar