Odisha train tragedy: CM Naveen thanks local residents for assisting rescue operations
The death toll in the tragic train derailment in Odisha‘s Balasore district has increased to 238, with at least 900 people injured, the South Eastern Railway said on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the accident site and announced a detailed high-level inquiry will be conducted and an independent inquiry by the rail safety commissioner.
Meanwhile, hundreds of local youngsters have lined up in hospitals to donate blood for the injured victims of the devastating train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore district.
As news of the accident that occurred on Friday evening spread, the youths lined up throughout the night at the Balasore district headquarters hospitals in Balasore and Bhadrak to donate blood.
Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena thanked the youth volunteers for donating blood in such a tragic time.
“500 Units of blood collected overnight here at Balasore. 900 Units in stock at present. This will help in treating the accident victims. I’m personally indebted & grateful to all the volunteers who’ve donated blood for a noble cause,” Jena said in a tweet.
More than 200 ambulances along with 30 buses have been pressed into service. 7 teams of NDRF, 5 teams of ODRAF and 24 fire service units, local police, and volunteers kept up the search for survivors and bodies trapped in the heap of mangled coaches throughout the night.
On Friday evening, 17 coaches of the Coromandel Express and SMVT-Howrah Super-Fast Express derailed, leading to one of the worst railway accidents in the country in the last 15 years.
In a bulletin, the SE Railway said: “Train number 12841 Shalimar-Chennai, Coromandel Express and Train number 12864 Sir M Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express got derailed near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station at around 6.55 p.m. on June 2.
“Accident Relief trains with medical equipment, doctors, and paramedics have rushed to the site from Kharagpur and Bhadrak,” it said.
Speaking to the media at the accident site, Vaishnaw said: “Our focus is on rescue and relief operations. Restoration will begin after clearance from the district administration.”
He said: “A detailed high-level inquiry will be conducted and the rail safety commissioner will also do an independent inquiry.”
According to railways, Coromandel Express was headed towards Chennai, while Sir M Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express was coming towards Howrah with 1,000 passengers when this accident took place on Friday evening.
A senior railway ministry official said that the massive train accident happened after coaches of Coromandel Express derailed and hit a standing good train on one side while some capsized on the opposite rail track on which SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express was coming from Yashwantpur side and going towards Howrah.
The SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express hit the capsized coaches and a massive accident took place.
The visuals from the accident site showed how the coaches of the two trains capsized on each other while NDRF and several other agencies used gas cutters to bring out the survivors from the mangled coaches.
Railways have canceled several trains on the Chennai-Howrah route, which is one the busiest routes of the national transporter.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the Balasore Hospital and interacted with the injured passengers. He thanked the local people and administration for saving the lives of so many people.
“I am deeply saddened by the extremely tragic train accident. I have to thank the local people and local team who have worked overnight to save people from the wreckage,” Patnaik told media persons.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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