Runaway train

A train carrying about 1000 passengers in India took them on an unexpected journey. India’s railway ministry says a “ghastly” accident was narrowly avoided after 22 carriages became detached from the engine and ran backwards. The runaway carriages in Odisha, eastern India, rolled for 12km before being halted by rocks placed on the tracks by railway staff, AFP reports. None of the passengers were injured, a railway spokesman, JP Mishra, said. Seven railway employees have been suspended and an investigation launched. In social media video footage, the carriages are seen speeding past a railway platform as onlookers yell at passengers to pull the train’s emergency brake.