India's deadly train accident due to changes in electronic interlocking system: minister

NEW DELHI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- India's federal railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said the cause of the fatal train accident in the eastern Indian state of Odisha was due to changes made to the point machine and electronic interlocking system.

The train crash resulted in 288 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.

The electronic interlocking system is a safety measure designed to prevent conflicting movements between trains on tracks.

The accident took place on Friday evening near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district, about 171 km northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.

According to officials, the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, hit the derailed bogies of a few coaches of Yashwantpur-Howrah Express, which derailed and toppled onto the adjacent track. A freight train was also said to be involved in the accident.

Vaishnaw stated that the individuals accountable for the accident have been identified and that efforts to restore the railway line are currently underway.