Odisha train accident: PM Shehbaz, FM Bilawal extend heartfelt condolences to bereaved families

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extended condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in India’s tragic train accident.

PM tweeted, “Deeply saddened by the loss of hundreds of lives in a train accident in India. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. Prayers for speedy recovery of the injured.”

Bilawal said, “ I was saddened to learn of the high death toll in the tragic train accident in Odisha, India.**

Bilawal said, “Our condolences for the families of the victims.”

“Wish speedy recovery to the injured,” Bilawal said.

AFP reported that at least 288 people were killed and more than 850 injured in a horrific three-train collision in India, officials said Saturday, the country’s deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years.

Images from the crash site showed smashed train compartments torn open with blood-stained holes near Balasore, in the eastern state of Odisha.

Carriages had flipped over entirely in the crash late on Friday and rescue workers searched for survivors trapped in the mangled wreckage, with scores of bodies laid out under white sheets beside the tracks.

As dawn broke on Saturday, rescue workers were able to see the full extent of the carnage.

Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, said that the death toll stood at 288.