India, a human error following the railway tragedy of about 300 deaths

This is how a preliminary investigative report quoted by the newspaper “of India”, under which one error in signalistics has caused the train crash in the eastern state of Orissa.

The Minister of Railways, Ashwin Vaishnaw, has confirmed this, claiming that the responsibilities and causes of the accident have been identified, suggesting that details will be provided only after the investigation is completed.

The leader of the passenger train “Cromandel Express”, connecting Calcutta and Madras, had received the green light to walk the main track, but was then diverted into tracks where a freight train was already traveling.

The 2,500 passenger wagons then crashed into each other at a speed of about 130km/h, near Balasor, about 200km from Bhubaneswar, capital of the state of Orissa.

Some remains later caused the escape from the tracks of an express destined north of Bangalore.

Veishna said the impact was caused by a change in electronic deadlock, a technical term referring to a complex system of signals designed to keep trains from impact by organizing their movement on the tracks.

Rescue operations were declared completed Saturday evening, as emergency personnel stopped checking the ruins in search of survivors and spread white sheets over dozens of troops near the tracks.

A high school near the crash site has turned into a morgue, but officials said many of the bodies were so disfigured that some families could only recognize their loved ones from their jewelry.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the site of tragedy, promising that the dynamics of the accident will soon be clarified.