Video footage of the scene of the crash showed stunned onlookers, and Indian news reports said more than 50 ambulances had arrived to the area, along with teams of doctors to tend to the injured.
Ashok Samal, a shopkeeper, told The Hindustan Times that he was ending his day near the railway track in his village of Bahanaga on Friday when he heard a deafening noise, ran to the track on the main line between Kolkata and Chennai, and saw a pile of mangled train cars.
“There were loud shrieks and blood all over,” he told the newspaper, adding that he saw people trapped under coaches and people wailing for help.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of railways, said on Twitter that the National Disaster Response Force had been mobilized, along with rescue workers from the air force.
Dozens of trains were canceled.
Persons:
Ashok Samal, ”, Ashwini Vaishnaw
Organizations:
Hindustan Times, Twitter, Force
Locations:
Bahanaga, Kolkata, Chennai