More than 260 killed and 900 injured in Indian train crash

At least 260 people were killed and around 900 injured during a three-way train crash in India on Friday, in one of the worst rail accidents in the nation's history.

The crash occurred in the city of Balasore in the eastern Indian state of Odisha around 7 p.m. local time. Officials said the accident began when the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, a passenger train, derailed and hit a freight train. This caused a number of cars from the Coromandel Express to dislodge and be thrown onto an oncoming track, where they were then struck by another passenger train.

More than 2,000 people were onboard all three trains, The New York Times reported, with at least 17 total train cars derailing during the crash. The Coromandel Express runs on a particularly popular route, according to the Times, and is "known for connecting the biggest cities on India's east coast at a relatively high speed."

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Rescue workers continued digging through the wreckage on Saturday, Odisha's Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena tweeted, with volunteers "working tirelessly in search and rescue." However, officials said it was unlikely that further survivors would be found. An investigation into the exact cause of the crash has also been launched.

The crash has renewed calls for increased train safety in a country that heavily relies on rail transportation. India's rail network is behind only the U.S., China, and Russia in terms of scope, and carries an estimated 13 million people every day, according to The Washington Post.

While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led campaigns to increase his country's high-speed rail capacity, these initiatives came under scrutiny following the crash, with detractors saying he should focus on fixing India's existing rail safety problems. Train accidents are very common in India — in 2021, more than 16,000 people died in 18,000 rail accidents across the country, CNN reported.