As India grieves train crash that killed 275, relatives try to identify bodies of loved ones

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As the aftermath of India’s most catastrophic train crash in recent history unfolds, grief-stricken families thronged a hospital in the city of Bhubaneswar on Monday. Their mission: to identify the bodies of their loved ones among the 275 victims. Simultaneously, railway officials recommended a criminal investigation into the tragic event.

Family members of the deceased passengers from Friday’s crash gathered anxiously outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the eastern city. Concurrently, survivors undergoing treatment recounted their experiences, struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster.

Outside the hospital, two large screens displayed photos of the deceased, their faces unrecognizably marred by the catastrophe. Each victim was assigned a number. Relatives scrutinized the screens for familiar clothing or any recognizable details.

Numerous mourners recounted days-long, desperate treks from neighboring states, hopping across trains, buses, or hired vehicles to participate in the identification process, an ordeal extending into the third day.

Of the casualties, only 45 bodies have been identified thus far, and 33 have been released to their families, according to Mayur Sooryavanshi, the administrator supervising the identification process. The hospital, located in Odisha state’s capital, is approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the accident site in Balasore.

Dr. Utkal Keshari Suna, a senior resident at the Bhubaneshwar hospital, described the experience as unprecedentedly challenging. Despite his forensic experience, the scale of the tragedy overwhelmed him. With time, identification has become increasingly challenging due to decomposition.

Upendra Ram embarked on a painstaking search for his son, Retul Ram, after a grueling 850-kilometer (520-mile) journey from neighboring Bihar state. Retul, aged 17, was headed to Chennai for employment opportunities. Ram eventually identified his son on Monday, expressing a desperate wish to return home with his son’s remains.

Friday’s accident ranks among the worst in India’s railway history. A potential signaling error may have caused the crash, where a passenger train collided with a freight train and subsequently derailed, only to be hit by another passenger train.

The accident involved the Coromandel Express, en route from Howrah in West Bengal state to Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, and the Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, traveling from Bengaluru in Karnataka to Howrah. The accident resulted in the cancellation or delay of at least 123 trains, causing a surge in air fares to Odisha, triggering warnings from India’s civil aviation ministry.

Usman Ansari, after a 24-hour journey from Bihar to recover his brother-in-law, Kasim Mia’s body, expressed hope that the government’s promised compensation would support the deceased’s four children.

On Sunday, authorities recommended that the Central Bureau of Investigations, India’s leading agency for major criminal cases, launch an investigation into the crash.

The crash site saw restoration of some train traffic by Sunday evening after two days of extensive repair work. The accident coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on modernizing India’s colonial-era railway network.

Despite having one of the world’s most complex railway systems, spanning over 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) of track with 14,000 passenger trains and 8,000 stations, India’s railway infrastructure has been plagued by years of mismanagement and neglect. Although safety has been a focus, hundreds of accidents occur annually, often attributed to human error or antiquated signaling equipment.

In 1995, a train collision near New Delhi resulted in 358 fatalities, marking one of India’s worst train accidents. More recently, in 2016, a train derailment between Indore and Patna claimed 146 lives. India’s rail network serves over 22 million passengers daily.

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Report by Saaliq from New Delhi.

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