A collision between two passenger trains and a parked freight train near the city of Balasor, Odisha in eastern India, results in 296 deaths and more than 1,200 people injured.

On 2 June 2023, three trains collided in Balasore district in the east Indian state of Odisha. The accident occurred around 19:00 IST when Coromandel Express, a passenger train, collided with a stationary goods train near Bahanaga Bazar railway station on the Howrah–Chennai main line. Due to the high speed of the passenger train and the heavy tonnage of the goods train, the impact resulted in 21 coaches of the Coromandel Express derailing and three of which collided with the oncoming SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Superfast Express on the adjacent track.

Balasore, also known as Baleswar, is a city in the state of Odisha, about 215 km (134 mi) from the state capital Bhubaneswar and 300 km (186 mi) from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district and the largest city as well as health and educational hub of northern Odisha. It is best known for Chandipur beach. It is also called 'missile city'. The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme's Integrated Test Range is located 18 km south of Balasore.

Odisha, formerly Orissa, is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the third-largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India. It neighbours the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres (301 mi) along the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. The region is also known as Utkaḷa and is mentioned by this name in India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The language of Odisha is Odia, which is one of the Classical languages of India.

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.