At least 233 people were killed and 900 were injured when two passenger trains collided in India’s Odisha state, a government official said on Saturday, making the rail accident the country’s deadliest in more than a decade.

The death toll from Friday’s crash is expected to rise, the state’s Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said on Twitter, Reuters reported.

He added that over 200 ambulances had been called to the scene of the accident in Odisha’s Balasore district and 100 additional doctors, on top of 80 already there, had been mobilised.

Early on Saturday morning, Reuters video footage showed police officials moving bodies covered in white cloths off the railway tracks.

Video footage from Friday showed rescuers climbing up one of the mangled trains to find survivors, while passengers called for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.

The collision occurred at about 19:00 local time (1330 GMT) on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express, running from Bangalore to Howrah, West Bengal, collided with the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai.

Authorities have provided conflicting accounts on which train derailed first to become entangled with the other. The Ministry of Railways said it has initiated an investigation into the incident.

Although Chief Secretary Jena and some media reports have suggested a freight train was also involved in the crash, railway authorities have yet to comment on that possibility.

An extensive search-and-rescue operation has been mounted, involving hundreds of fire department personnel and police officers as well as sniffer dogs. National Disaster Response Force teams were also at the site.

On Friday, hundreds of young people lined up outside a government hospital in Odisha’s Soro to donate blood.

According to Indian Railways, its network facilitates the transportation of over 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure.

Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared a day of state mourning on June 3 as a mark of respect to the victims.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with the foreign minister of Belarus Sergei Aleinik on Wednesday and said Islamabad greatly values its cordial and broad-based relations with Minsk.

According to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office, Sharif affirmed Pakistan’s commitment towards building mutually beneficial cooperation with Belarus in all areas, including economic, agriculture, science and technology, information technology, education, and culture domains.

Aleinik in turn highlighted that Belarus regarded Pakistan as an important country in the region and appreciated its efforts to promote regional peace and stability.

Noting that Pakistan and Belarus would be commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2024, the prime minister welcomed continued high-level exchanges and engagement.

Following an agreement between Kabul and Islamabad, an unofficial gate has been opened only for trucks in the Wesh-Chaman border crossing area of Spin Boldak district.

Traders in Kandahar say that the opening of this gate has provided them with more facilities because in the past, due to heavy traffic, they could not deliver commercial goods to the markets in a timely fashion.

Hundreds of trucks cross the border in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar daily.

The move comes at the suggestion of traders who asked for an extra gate so as to speed up border crossings for cargo trucks.

“We had a gate on the border with Pakistan, but due to the traffic congestion, our transit vehicles were waiting for four to five hours, and now our business has also improved, so the traders from both sides talked and based on their agreement, this new gate is opened,” said Mohammad Sediq, the head of the Chamber of Commerce of Spin Boldak.

Afghan and Pakistani drivers expressed their satisfaction with the creation of this gate and say that it has become easier for them to cross the border.

“Earlier there were congestion problems on the road, now the problems have been solved and there is no problem in our commuting and it is secure,” said Abdul Jabbar, one truck driver.

The residents of Spin Boldek district have also welcomed the move and said the extra gate will boost trade between the two countries.

“I think that if the problems of traders in Spin Boldak are solved and facilities are provided for them, people will be encouraged to trade more and those who have gone abroad or transfer their business abroad will be encouraged and will come back again, and Spin Boldek’s income will also increase,” said Kamaluddin, a resident of Spin Boldak.

In the past traders have had enormous problems with long delays at the border. For traders transporting fresh fruit and vegetables this had become a serious problem. With the new gate, traders hope there will now be no long delays.