Indian police arrest three rail staff over Odisha train disaster

COLOMBO (News 1st) - India’s federal police have arrested three railway employees in connection with a train disaster in June, that claimed the lives of 292 people.

Two of those arrested are engineers while the third worked as a technician for the railways, a statement from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Friday.

The CBI launched an investigation after registering a case of criminal negligence following the June 2 crash, which renewed questions about rail safety in India.

The accident in the Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha occurred when a passenger train hit a freight train loaded with iron ore.

The passenger train derailed and struck another passenger train passing in the opposite direction.

The two passenger trains were carrying more than 2,000 passengers.

The rail disaster, which is known as one of the worst in India’s history, also injured about 1,000 people.