An Indian Railways spokesman has named the causes of the train crash that killed more than 250 people, AP News reports.
Indian authorities are completing salvage operations and efforts are currently underway to remove the wreckage of both trains from the scene.
Revised figures from Odisha state authorities put the death toll at 275.
According to railway chief Jaya Verma Sinha, preliminary investigations showed that the Coromandel Express high-speed train was given the signal to move onto the main track, but the signal was later changed and the train entered a secondary track where it collided with a freight train loaded with iron ore.
According to the official, when the trains collided, the carriages of the Coromandel Express overturned on the opposite track and the oncoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express also derailed.
According to Y. Verma, the main cause of the accident was an error in the electronic alarm system. She said a thorough investigation would reveal whether the accident was caused by human or technical error.
The electronic interlocking system is a safety mechanism designed to prevent conflict situations in the movement of trains. It also monitors signals that tell drivers how far they are from another train, what speed is allowed, and whether there are any stationary trains on the track.
“The system is 99.9% infallible. But there is always 0.1% possibility of errors”, specifies Y. Verma.
When asked if the accident could have been sabotage, she replied that “no possibility is excluded”.
Rail accidents are not uncommon in India. The worst of these occurred in 1981, when a train plunged off a bridge into the river below in Bihar state, killing between 800 and 1,000 people. But Friday’s crash would be the worst since the 1990s.
Around 22 million people travel through India every day. people travel in 14,000 trains that travel 64,000 kilometres.
Source: The Delfi
