The first investigations attribute the multiple rail collision in Odisha (India) to human error

Another hypothesis points to the activation of a track change signal before the first impact between the three railways involved.

The chain railway collision that occurred this past Friday in the Indian state of Odisha took place after the Coromandel express, the main railway involved in the disaster, unexpectedly left the main track minutes before the tragedy, according to data from the center of initial control analyzed by transport managers.

According to footage captured by downtown Jaragpur, the express ended up taking a circular line until it collided at 127 km/h with a freight train just past Bahnagar Bazaar station at around 6:55 p.m. , local time. As a result of the impact, the express ended up distributed on the main road and it was there that the second collision was recorded, involving a third train, the Yashwantnagar express.

Another line of investigation points to the possibility that the sudden change of track was due to the activation of a displacement signal, according to another report presented by four railway service technicians. The authorities, however, are cautious in describing this scenario as a technical failure because the track in question is not protected by the Kavach automatic anti-collision mechanism, which automatically stops a train if another is on the same track, so that still do not rule out the human factor.

"How it happened and why is something that will be known after a thorough investigation but, right off the bat, it seems to be a human error," a railway official told NDTV on condition of anonymity.

The main official balance of victims so far shows 261 deaths, but in the last hours the state Finance Minister, Pramila Mallick, has reported 288 deaths during her visit to the accident site, according to Indian television News18. The number of injured remains around 900.

The Rescue services, for their part, have almost finished their tasks and from now on they will go on to recover bodies between the irons of the huge accident, the deadliest since that which occurred in 1995 in Firozabad, in the state of Uttar. Pradesh, which resulted in 350 deaths.

In addition, it is the third incident involving the Coromandel Express in the last 20 years. A first derailment in 2002 resulted in hundreds of injuries and a second accident in 2009 left 16 dead and 200 injured.

The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has demanded this Friday the resignation of the Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has already announced that he has opened an investigation to determine the causes of the accident and has also offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims. .

The Indian authorities have announced a series of compensation of up to 200,000 rupees (more than 2,250 euros) for the relatives of the fatalities, and up to 50,000 rupees (more than 560 euros) for the injured, the NDTV television network collects.