BALASORE, India (WTVO) — More than 280 people are dead after two passenger trains derailed in eastern India Friday night.

The disaster is one of the deadliest train crashes in history. Over 900 injuries were reported in addition to the almost 300 deaths.

An Associated Press photographer saw bodies still entangled in a badly mangled coach, as rescuers struggled to retrieve them working under the oppressive heat with temperatures reaching up to 35 degree Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rescuers work at the site of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

“By 10 p.m. (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies,” Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha state’s fire and emergency department, told The Associated Press. “This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career.”

People inspect the site of passenger trains that derailed in Balasore district. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India’s railway system is one of the largest in the world, and also among the least safe. From 2017-2021 there were more than 100,000 train-related deaths in India, according to the Associated Press

The Maurienne Derailment is the worst train disaster in history, the 1917 crash caused between 800 & 1,000 Deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.