The death toll in Jnaneswari Express derailment rose to 148 after some more bodies, trapped under the engine of the goods train which had rammed into the derailed coaches, were extricated by rescuers this morning.
West Midnapore district magistrate N S Nigam said search was continuing for 25 missing passengers after 13 coaches of the Mumbai-bound train went off the tracks and then were crushed by a goods train coming from the opposite direction.
Nigam said some bodies were likely to be extricated from under the engine as rescue operations were still on for the third consecutive day.
A foul stench pervaded on the site of the train disaster.
Rescue workers of the railway, personnel of the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), volunteers, National Cadet Corps
(NCC) and medical teams were at the site watched by a huge crowd from neigbouring villages.
The district magistrate and hospital sources put the death toll at 148.
Around 145 passengers were receiving treatment in various hospitals in Midnapore, Kharagpur and Kolkata in eastern India, the District Magistrate (DM) said.
Train services on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of the South Eastern Railway (SER) resumed this morning after restoration of both the railway tracks which had remained obstructed after the tragedy.