Pope Francis offered his prayers on Sunday for the victims of a train crash in India that killed at least 275 people.
“I am close to the injured and their families. May our heavenly Father welcome the souls of the deceased into his kingdom,” he said in his Angelus address on 4 June.
More than 1,000 people were injured in the crash in the Balasore district of Odisha state. It is India’s worst rail disaster in over two decades.
The crash is believed to have been caused by a fault in a passenger train’s electronic signalling system, which led it to change tracks and hit a stationary freight train on Friday evening. It derailed and crashed into a second passenger train travelling in the opposite direction. The two trains were carrying 2,296 people in total when they collided.
Officials said that other possible causes have not been ruled out and an investigation is underway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish any individual found responsible for the disaster.
The Pope also sent a condolence telegram to India’s apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the day after the accident.
The telegram, signed on the Pope’s behalf by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said: “His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the immense loss of life caused by the train crash in Odisha State, and he assures all affected by this tragedy of his spiritual closeness.”
It continued: “Entrusting the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of the Almighty, he sends heartfelt condolences to those who mourn their loss.
“His Holiness likewise offers prayers for the many injured and for the efforts of the emergency service personnel, and he invokes upon them the divine gifts of courage and consolation.”
Hundreds of rescuers searched for survivors from Friday until Sunday, when the last bodies were removed from the wreckage.
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