New Delhi (CNN) A disaster was narrowly averted in eastern India after a runaway train carrying up to 1,000 passengers rolled with speed for several miles before being brought to an emergency stop by railway staff. Video on social media shows the train, which was traveling Saturday evening from the western state of Gujarat to Odisha state in the east, speeding past stations as onlookers and passengers scream helplessly. The train was eventually stopped after railway workers placed wooden wedges on the tracks, bringing it to a crunching halt. None of the estimated 1,000 passengers were injured in the incident and the train reached its final destination two hours past its schedule, said Jaideep Gupta, a divisional railway manager in the Indian Railways' eastern branch. There remains confusion among officials as to the true number of passengers aboard the train, with East Coast Railway's chief public relations officer JP Mishra suggesting that several hundred passengers may have already exited the train prior to the carriages becoming detached from the engine and the true number may be closer to 500.

Source: CNN April 09, 2018 06:45 UTC