Bhubaneswar / New Delhi, June 3 (). The death toll in the train derailment incident in Odisha’s Balasore district has risen to 288, while around 800 people are injured. South-East Railway (SER) gave this information on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site on Saturday and took stock of the rescue and relief operations. He also met the survivors of the accident.
Modi said the government would provide better treatment to the injured and those found guilty of the accident would not be spared.
Earlier in the day, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had also said that a detailed high-level inquiry would be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
Twenty-one coaches of the Coromandel Express and the SMVT-Howrah Super Fast Express derailed on Friday evening, causing one of the worst rail accidents in the country in two decades.
South Eastern Railway said in a bulletin: Train No. 12841 Shalimar-Chennai, Coromandel Express and Train No. 12864 Sir M. Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express derailed near Bahanga Bazar Railway Station at around 6.55 pm on 2nd June.
It further said, accident relief trains from Kharagpur and Bhadrak with medical equipment, doctors and paramedics were sent to the spot. According to the information received so far, 288 people have died. At least 56 people have suffered serious injuries while 747 have suffered minor injuries and have been admitted to various hospitals.
SER also said that a special train was run from Howrah to Balasore at 4 pm on Saturday. This train reached there with the relatives of the affected passengers.
The statement said, Railways is taking every initiative for the restoration of trains. Meanwhile, a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident, which is to be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle.
Nearly 16 hours after a goods train derailed between two express trains – Coromandel and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express, the railways on Saturday afternoon announced the completion of the rescue operation, following which restoration work began.
According to the Railways, the Coromandel Express with over 1,200 passengers was headed towards Chennai, while the SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express with over 1,000 passengers was headed towards Howrah.
A senior railway ministry official said the coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed and hit a goods train parked on one side, while some fell on the opposite rail track on which the SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express was coming from Yesvantpur side and Was going to Howrah.
SMVP-Howrah Express collided with overturned coaches near Bahanaga Bazar railway station.
According to railway sources, preliminary investigation has revealed that the Coromandel Express was put on the loop line minutes before the accident, where it collided with a stationary goods train. However, railway officials have denied this and said that a detailed investigation is underway. All angles of sabotage, mechanical failure or human error will be thoroughly probed.
Visuals from the crash site showed how the carriages of the two trains overturned, even as the locomotive of the Coromandel Express rammed a wagon of the goods train. Several teams of NDRF and other agencies used gas cutters to rescue survivors from the damaged coaches.
Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said over 200 ambulances along with 30 buses have been pressed into service since Friday evening’s accident.
Railway CRS/SE Circle A.M. Chowdhary has also announced an inquiry.
Railways has canceled several trains running on the Chennai-Howrah route, one of the busiest routes of the national transporter.
SGK
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