Balasore Was One Of The Worst Train Accidents India Has Seen, Here Are The Other Deadly Mishaps
More than 900 people were injured, some of them critically. This makes Balasore the third-deadliest mishap in India Railway's history. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was involved in the accident.
The death toll in the train accident involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train in Odisha's Balasore on Friday has crossed the 260 mark.
AFP
As the search and rescue operations concluded on Saturday morning, officials said that more than 900 people were injured, some of them critically, suggesting that the death toll could go up further.
This makes Balasore the third-deadliest mishap in India Railway's history.
Bagmati train derailment 1981
The worst accident Indian Railways has seen so far was on June 1981, when a passenger train between Bihar's Mansi and Saharsa derailed and fell into the river Bagmati while crossing a bridge.
The train had around eight hundred passengers onboard at the time, and only 88 of them survived. While the official death toll is 235, the remaining bodies were never found and are believed to have been washed away.
Firozabad, 1995
The second deadliest train mishap in India was on August 20, 1995, when Purushottam Express collided with the stationary Kalindi Express near Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. The Kalindi Express travelling from Kanpur to Delhi had struck a nilgai and could not proceed as its brakes were damaged.
The Purushottam Express, which was on its way from Puri to Delhi, collided with Kalindi Express from behind while most passengers were asleep. The official death toll was around 305.
Gaisal collision 1999
On August 2, 1999, the Brahmaputra Mail crashed into the stationary Avadh Assam Express at Gaisal station in North Frontier Railway's Katihar division, killing more than 285 people and injuring over 300. Both trains used the same track due to a signalling error, causing the fatal collision. Many of the victims were Army, BSF or CRPF personnel.
Frontier Golden Temple Mail, 1998
212 people were killed after Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express collided with three derailed Frontier Golden Temple Mail coaches in Punjab's Khanna on November 26, 1998.
Pukhrayan derailment 2016
On November 20, 2016, 14 coaches of Indore-Rajendra Nagar Express derailed at Pukhrayan, approximately 60 km from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, killing 152 people and injuring 260. Most casualties were from two severely damaged coaches -- S1 and S2 of sleeper class.
BCCL
Jnaneshwari Express, 2010
On 28 May 2010, a Jnaneshwari Express train that was on its way to Mumbai derailed at about 1 am near Jhargramthe West Midnapore district of West Bengal, and then it was then hit by an oncoming goods train, killing 148 passengers. It is suspected that a sabotage or blast on the track could have resulted in the derailment.
Howrah Rajdhani Express 2022
On September 9, 2002, the Howrah Rajdhani Express derailed over a bridge on the Dhave River in Bihar's Rafiganj, killing more than 140 people. Terrorist sabotage was blamed for the incident.
Pamban-Dhanuskodi passenger, 1964
Over 126 passengers on board were killed after the Rameswaram cyclone washed away the Pamban-Dhanuskodi passenger train on December 23, 1964.
IRFAC
Peruman, 1988
On July 8, 1988, ten bogies of the Island Express, travelling from Bangalore to Thiruvananthapuram Central, derailed on the Peruman bridge over Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala and fell into the water, killing 105 people.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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