Nearly 290 individuals have died within the accident involving three trains within the nation’s worst rail catastrophe in 20 years.

Balasore, Odisha — Mohammad Afzal survived one of many worst train accidents in India’s historical past, however remained in a state of excessive anxiousness, unable to find his good friend who was in the identical coach.

Afzal, 19, has been going from one hospital to the subsequent within the japanese state of Odisha, the place the catastrophe occurred on Friday, to trace down his good friend Mohmmad Mazhar, additionally 19, who had boarded the practice with him.

Mazhar’s household, together with his mother and father, uncles and aunts, from Kolkata within the neighbouring state of West Bengal, nearly 200 kilometres (124.3 miles) from the accident web site, have launched a frantic search.

But Mazhar’s whereabouts have been unknown much more than 20 hours after the three-train pileup, because the loss of life toll continued to rise.

“We boarded the general compartment of the train. The coach was completely packed. We had no place to sit, so we were standing,” Afzal stated.

“Thirty minutes after boarding the train, the accident happened. We could feel the compartment overturn at least thrice,” he added.

While he may pull himself out of the carriage, he couldn’t discover Mazhar.

“I looked for him for at least four hours. But there was no sign of him. I will be at peace only after I find him,” he instructed Al Jazeera.

At least 288 individuals have died and greater than 800 passengers have been injured, based on the newest replace from South Eastern Railway.

Afzal’s aunt Amna Begum is holding on to hope.

“We just want to know if he is alive. We arrived here immediately after we heard the news. It’s been almost a day, but we have no news of him,” she stated.

Those who survived are calling it their second delivery. Manoranjan Malik, 42, has a fractured left leg. He was pulled out of the mangled stays of the practice compartment greater than 12 hours after the accident.

“I keep in mind there was an enormous crackling sound. My head hit a spot after which I don’t keep in mind something.

“I lost consciousness. The next thing I remember is someone was pulling me out. When I looked at the open sky, I couldn’t understand where I was,” Malik stated.

“This feels like a second lease of life,” he instructed Al Jazeera.

‘Followed the screams’

While a number of particulars of the accident and its trigger are nonetheless unclear, officers have stated that it concerned three trains – two categorical passenger trains and one items practice.

It occurred close to Bahanaga Bazaar station within the district of Balasore, which is about 250km (155 miles) south of Kolkata and 170km (106 miles) north of Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s capital.

A resident of Bahanaga, who lives about 200 metres (218 yards) from the crash web site, stated that it was throughout inside minutes.

“We heard a loud sound, something we had never heard before. It was gradual, not a single sound,” stated Ganbhyan Behera.

“When we rushed to the spot, nothing was visible – but we could hear screams. We followed the screams and tried to rescue as many people as we could,” he added.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promised an intensive investigation even because the opposition known as for his resignation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash web site on Saturday to examine on the rescue efforts and in addition seemed in on hospitalised survivors.

While the rescue operation has ended and the realm has been cleared of each the dwelling and the lifeless, the authorities have stated that one of many greatest challenges forward is figuring out the our bodies – and in addition reuniting individuals like Afzal with their family and friends.