All types of investigation have been ordered, whoever is found guilty will be punished, PM Modi said after visiting the accident site
June 04, 2023 09:40 am | Updated 09:44 am IST
Rescue workers recover victims’ bodies from a carriage wreckage of a three-train collision near Balasore, in India’s eastern state of Odisha, on June 3, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
The toll in the Friday evening train accident at Bahanaga Bazar railway station of Odisha’s Balasore district rose sharply to 288 on Saturday, while 1,091 injured persons have been provided medical assistance. Of the injured, 56 were stated to be grievously wounded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the spot to take stock of the accident — dubbed as one of the most tragic accidents in the country.
A preliminary investigation by a team of railway officials has revealed that signal was given and then taken off for Coromandel Express which entered the Loop Line and collided with the goods train.
Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express (12841) took the wrong track instead of the main line at the Bahanaga Bazaar station in Balasore district of Odisha and crashed into a goods train stationed there. Coromandel Express was going at full speed as it was not supposed to stop at the station. In the impact, 21 coaches derailed and three of them jumped onto an adjacent track, through which the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express (12864) was travelling at the same time. The two rearmost coaches of the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express also derailed.
The Odisha government has issued the helpline 06782-262286. The railway helplines are 033-26382217 (Howrah), 8972073925 (Kharagpur), 8249591559 (Balasore) and 044- 25330952 (Chennai).
Southern Railway has set up a round-the-clock helpline and control office at Chennai. A press release said, commuters and relatives could contact the helpline and control office at 044-25330952, 044-25330953, and 044-25354771.
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June 04, 2023 09:44
UN Secretary-General Guterres deeply saddened by loss of life and injury in Odisha train accident
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed sadness at the loss of lives in the tragic train accident in Odisha that has killed over 280 people and injured hundreds more.
“The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the loss of life and injury in a train accident in Odisha, India,” a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said on Saturday. -PTI
June 04, 2023 09:43
Biden says he is heartbroken by train crash in India
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he is heartbroken by the tragic news of a train crash in India that has killed nearly 300 people.
“(First Lady Dr) Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash in India. Our prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. -PTI
June 04, 2023 09:33
Team of doctors rushed to provide medical aid to injured
A team of doctors and experts from the AIIMS here and other central hospitals of Delhi have been rushed to Bhubaneswar through a special IAF flight to provide medical assistance to those injured in the deadly Odisha train accident, official sources said on Sunday.
The team is carrying medicines and heavy critical care equipment, the sources said. -PTI