The Odisha train accident which has left the nation in a state of tragedy is the third worst train accident in the last 30 years.
The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express train, which was coming from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with an oncoming freight train near Pahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district of Odisha on June 2 at 7 pm. 8 coaches of the express were derailed. Meanwhile, the Howrah Express from Yeshwantpur to Howrah also crashed there.
288 people died in this tragic accident where three trains collided. More than 1000 people were injured. Atul Garhwal, head of the National Disaster Response Force, said about the accident, “This is a very bad accident in terms of the number of casualties. Nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force are involved in rescue operations at the accident site. So far, 300 people have been rescued. Three trains collided with each other. The trains collided with each other. Train coaches derailed at high speed,” he said.
3rd worst accident: The Odisha accident is said to be the 3rd worst train accident in the last 30 years. Some of the biggest train accidents in India so far are:
October 18, 2018: At least 59 people were killed when a train rammed into Dussehra visitors in Punjab’s Amritsar. More than 100 people were injured.
November 20, 2016: 152 people were killed and over 250 passengers injured when 14 coaches of the Indore-Rajendra Nagar Express derailed at Bukrayan, about 60 km from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
May 28, 2010: Howrah – Lokmaniya Tilak Terminus Gnaneswari Express collided with an oncoming freight train between Hamasuli and Sarthika in Maharashtra, killing 140 and injuring over 200.
October 29, 2005: 144 killed and over 200 injured when a Delta Passenger Express derailed after a minor railway bridge was washed away by a flash flood in Valikonda, Andhra Pradesh.
September 9, 2002: 140 people were killed when the Howrah Rajdhani Express derailed and two coaches fell into the river on the river bridge between Bihar’s Gaya and Dehari on Zone railway stations.
August 2, 1999: At least 285 people were killed when the Brahmaputra Mail collided with the Avadh Express train at Kaisal railway station in Dinajpur district, West Bengal. More than 300 people were injured. The accident is said to have occurred due to signal failure.
November 26, 1998: 212 people were killed when a Frontier Golden Temple train collided with three derailed coaches of the Jammu Tawi-Seelda Express at Khanna, Punjab.
August 5, 1997: 75 people were killed when two Coromandel Express trains collided head-on between Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Brahmapur in Odisha. One train was coming from Howrah and another from Chennai. Two years later on August 15, 1999, 50 people died when the Coromandel Express derailed in the Nagavalli River near Dusi Crossing.
August 20, 1995: About 350 people were killed when a Purushottam Express collided with a stationary Kalindi Express near Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. The accident happened when most of the passengers were sleeping on the train.
July 8, 1988: 106 passengers died when an express train derailed on the Peruman bridge at Ashtamudi Lake near Kollam, Kerala. 10 coaches of the train were submerged in water.
June 6, 1981: 300 people died when a train derailed and plunged into the river while crossing the Bagmati Bridge in Bihar.
