Is this human error? India's railway minister announced on Sunday that the cause and responsibility for India's worst rail disaster in decades had been identified, while designating an electronic signalling system. The provisional toll from Friday's collision between three trains near Balasore, in the eastern state of Odisha, reports at least 288 dead and about 900 injured hospitalized.
"We have identified the cause of the accident and the people responsible for it," India's railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, told ANI news agency on Sunday, adding that it was "not appropriate" to disclose further details before the final investigation report.
"A change" in signage
According to the minister, "the change that occurred during the electronic interlocking is at the origin of the accident", referring to a complex set of signals managing traffic on the tracks to prevent the collision of trains.
#WATCH | According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signalling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandal Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/h: Jaya... pic.twitter.com/7OdodYSk7D
— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023
"The culprit and how the accident occurred will be discovered after a proper investigation," he added.
Hit at 130 km/h
Confusion reigns at this stage, but the Times of India, citing the preliminary investigation report, said Sunday that "human error" may have caused the collision between three trains, one of the worst rail disasters in the country's history.
VIDEO. India: At least 288 dead and 850 injured in one of the country's worst rail disasters
The Coromandel Express, linking Kolkata to Madras, had been given the green light on Friday to run on the main track but was diverted due to human error on a track where a freight train was already located, according to the newspaper.
The passenger train then collided with the freight convoy at a speed of approximately 130 km/h. Three cars fell on the adjacent track, hitting the rear of an express train that was flying between Bangalore and Kolkata. It was this collision that caused the most damage, the Times added, citing the preliminary report.
