Balasore, June 2: At least 70 people were killed and more than 350 injured in a horrific train crash in Odisha on Friday, involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train, officials said.
Eyewitnesses, however, claimed that the number of deaths in the accident, which happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district around 7 pm, could be near 100 as more bodies were being pulled out from under the derailed coaches.
Several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on the way to Howrah, derailed and fell on adjacent tracks, an official said.
Over 350 people have been admitted to different hospitals across the district, officials said, adding that all private and government hospitals have been put on alert in the nearby districts, including state capital Bhubaneswar.
So far, 70 bodies could be brought out from the derailed coaches, they said. (PTI)