Around 7:20 p.m. local time, a passenger train derailed in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, sending some cars careening onto the opposite track, where they were struck by another passenger train, according to local media reports. A nearby freight train also became ensnared in the pileup.

In photos: The scene following the deadly India train crash

The train crash already appears to rank among the worst railway accidents in India’s history. Only three past railway incidents in the country — a derailment and two collisions — resulted in dramatically higher death tolls. Those three incidents all happened in the 1980s and ’90s.

The collision occurred near the Bahanaga railway station in northeastern Odisha between the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a third, unnamed freight train, local officials told the Hindustan Times.

The death toll is “increasing as there are a lot of serious injuries, head injuries,” Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, told Agence France-Presse. “A very sad incident, and the prognosis is not good.”

Odisha state Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena posted on Twitter early Saturday morning that the death toll had risen to 233, with more than 900 injured.

About 600 injured passengers were taken to hospitals for treatment, Jena said in a video posted to Twitter.

Rescue operations were ongoing early Saturday morning in India, with military personnel joining in the search, according to news reports. Indian media described a frantic search through the debris for people still trapped in the wreckage involving medical personnel, working dogs and good Samaritans.

One witness recalled seeing bodies trapped under overturned train cars. “There were loud shrieks and blood all over,” Ashok Samal told the Hindustan Times.

Images and videos of the wreck showed upturned train cars and people attempting to pull survivors from the mangled mess. Witnesses to the crash described a heartbreaking scene of wounded and dying people as they scrambled to help others.

“When I looked out, I saw four [cars] of our train had derailed. There were bodies trapped under the coaches. It was dark and cries could be heard,” Vidhan Jena, a passenger on board the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, told the Times of India. “I was shocked to see bodies lying here and there. It was a terrible sight.”

“Distressed by the train accident in Odisha,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter. “In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.”

More than 700 disaster responders, police and rescue personnel have been sent to the crash site, according to local media. Pradeep Jena, the state chief secretary, said hundreds of doctors and ambulances had been sent to the scene, as well. A blood drive was also quickly organized overnight, Jena said.

“I have given out an order to conduct a high-level probe to find out why this accident happened,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Asian News International. Some regional and opposition politicians have called for Vaishnaw’s resignation in response to the crash.

Vaishnaw announced shortly after the crash that victims and their families would be compensated: About $12,000 would be given to the families of those killed and $2,400 and $600 to people who had suffered “grievous” and “minor” injuries, respectively.

The state government declared a day of mourning over the accident in a statement on Twitter.

India’s railroads had 63,000 job openings. 19 million people applied.

India boasts one of the world’s largest railway networks, behind the United States, China and Russia, and the railway is one of the world’s largest employers.