At least 288 people have been killed and 1,000 are injured in a crash involving three trains in India’s eastern Odisha state.
One passenger train derailed on to the adjacent track and was struck by an incoming train on Friday, also hitting a nearby stationary freight train.
A massive recovery operation is under way, after hundreds of emergency workers searched the wreckage.
The cause of India’s worst train crash in over 20 years is not yet clear.
Officials say several carriages from the Coromandel Express, travelling between Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras), derailed at about 19:00 (13:30 GMT) in Balasore district after hitting a stationary goods train. Several of its coaches ended up on the opposite track.
Another train travelling in the opposite direction – the Howrah Superfast Express travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah – then hit the overturned carriages.
“The force with which the trains collided has resulted in several coaches being crushed and mangled,” Atul Karwal, chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told ANI news agency.
More than 200 ambulances and hundreds of doctors, nurses and rescue personnel were sent to the scene, the state’s chief secretary Pradeep Jena said.
Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, had earlier said 288 had died.
All trapped and injured passengers have been rescued. It is not clear how serious the injuries of those taken to hospitals were.
Work to restore the site of the crash begun, India’s South Eastern Railway company said on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site of the accident on Saturday afternoon, joining Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched, although Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has blamed “technical reasons”.
Survivors and eyewitnesses have described chaotic scenes and the heroic efforts of people from nearby villages to save trapped passengers.
Mukesh Pandit, who was trapped for half an hour before being rescued, told the BBC he heard a “thunderous sound” shortly before the carriage overturned.
“Four passengers who were travelling from my village have survived, but a lot of people are injured or still missing. A lot of people died in the coach I was travelling in,” he added.
At least 280 people were killed and more than 900 injured in a horrific crash involving three trains, including two passenger express trains, in the Indian state of Odisha on Friday night, Indian media reported.
The Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express passenger train bound for Chennai from Kolkata had veered on to an adjacent track near Bahanaga Bazar station, and crashed into a goods train, with several passenger coaches coming to rest on a third track. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express passenger train, on its way to Howrah from Bengaluru (Bangalore), then slammed into the carriages of the Coromandel Express at approximately 7:20 p.m, with some coaches flying into the air and ending up as heaps of twisted metal.
Rescue workers toiled through the night amid the wreckage in the darkness to find survivors and more than 130 ambulances and a number of buses ferried the injured to hospitals. The government rushed hundreds of rescue workers and 120 doctors to the area. The Indian Air Force deployed helicopters to ferry the injured and dead to hospitals. The two passenger trains were carrying over 3,500 passengers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the crash site on Saturday afternoon. He earlier tweeted his grief over the loss of lives: “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to Railway Minister and took stock of the situation. Rescue ops are underway at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected”.
Indian President Droupadi Murmu tweeted: “Deeply anguished to know about the loss of lives in an unfortunate rail accident in Balasore, Odisha. My heart goes out to the bereaved families. I pray for the success of rescue operations and quick recovery of the injured”.
“Anguished by the tragic news of the accident involving the Coromandel Express, in Balasore, Odisha. My heart goes out to the bereaved families. Wishing for the speedy recovery of those injured. I urge Congress workers & leaders to extend all support needed for rescue efforts,” tweeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.