IN PICS | Odisha train accident, 238 dead, 900 injured

The train crash happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.

In one of the worst railway disasters in the country, at least 238 people were killed and more than 900 injured when three trains collided one after another in a horrific sequence in Odisha's Balasore district. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS) 

The train crash happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

The mishap occurred when 10 to 12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed causing them to fall onto the opposite track. Subsequently, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express collided with the bogies of the Coromandel Express, leading to the derailment of three to four of its own coaches. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

The railways announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for those grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who got minor injuries. (Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached Bahanaga railway station where the mishap occurred and said that the top priority is rescue and relief works. (Photo | Express )