The railway minister clarified that it was “not appropriate” to give further details ahead of the final investigation report.
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Posted on 4/6/2023 8:42 AM Updated on 4/6/2023 10:38 AM
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Rescuers at the train collision that killed at least 288 people on June 4, 2023 near Balasore, India. (DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)
After the horror, the questions. India’s Railways Minister announced on Sunday June 4 that the cause and those responsible for Friday’s railway disaster near Balasore have been identified. “The change that took place during the electronic interlocking is the cause of the accident,” Ashwini assured Vaishnaw, citing a complex set of signals that control traffic on the tracks to prevent trains from colliding.
>> India: What we know about the train disaster that killed nearly 300 people
“The perpetrator and the manner in which the accident happened will be determined after a proper investigation,” he added. He said it was “inappropriate” to release more details ahead of the final investigative report.
A train was accidentally diverted?
For its part, the Times of India, citing the preliminary investigation report, reports that “human error” may have caused the three-train collision. The Coromandel Express, which connects Kolkata to Madras, had been given the green light to operate on the main line, but was diverted to a route where a freight train was already running due to human error. The passenger train then crashed into the freight convoy at a speed of around 130 km/h.
Three wagons then fell onto the adjacent track and crashed into the rear of an express train running between Bangalore and Kolkata. This collision caused the most damage, the Times adds.
At this point, Friday night’s train accident is the deadliest in India since 1995, when two express trains collided in Firozabad near Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, killing more than 300 people.
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