Deadly Collision Sparks Calls for Infrastructure Overhaul
A devastating three-train collision in India's eastern state of Odisha has left at least 275 dead and over 1,000 injured, marking one of the country's worst rail disasters in decades. Preliminary investigations attribute the crash to a signal failure, with a passenger train striking a stationary freight carrier before derailing and colliding with an oncoming train.
Rescue operations involving military helicopters, firefighters, and medical teams continued for nearly 24 hours, with survivors transported to hospitals across Balasore district. At Soro Hospital, CGTN spoke to passengers who described scenes of chaos. \"I saw bodies everywhere,\" one survivor said. \"This shouldn't happen again – the government must prioritize railway safety.\"
India's railway network, transporting over 13 million passengers daily, has faced criticism over aging infrastructure despite recent modernization efforts. The disaster has reignited debates about transportation funding in the world's fifth-largest economy.
Reference(s):
Indian train crash survivor urges govt to improve railway management
cgtn.com
