Kolkata/Balasore: The official death toll in Friday’s train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district is 275, not 288 as claimed earlier, state Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said Sunday.
According to media reports, Jena said the earlier figure was incorrect as some bodies had been counted twice. Around 900 people are reported injured.
The accident occurred near the Bahanaga Bazar station around 7 pm, when coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai-Coromandel Express derailed and fell onto the adjacent track, hitting a stationary freight train.
These derailed coaches then collided with the Sir M. Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express coming from the opposite side.
With mangled bogies strewn about and sniffer dogs trying to ascertain alive passengers, overnight search operations continued Saturday morning as officials on the spot feared a further rise in the toll.
Railway officials, who didn’t want to be named, said that 3,400 passengers were travelling in two passenger trains.
“The train was running at 70-80 km/hour. We couldn’t imagine that minutes later, we would be victims of an accident. I have hurt my head and lost my belongings,” said a passenger who survived the collision.
Recalling the night, Vidhan Jena, another passenger, said it was “horrific”.
“There was a loud explosion sound, our coaches went backwards and we could see another train coming from the opposite side at full speed. It was dark, but we could hear cries for help. Mangled bodies were strewn across, there was blood,” Jena, who was travelling from Bhubaneswar to Balasore, told reporters.
Jacob Kispotta, a senior commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), told reporters at the spot that six teams of the NDRF had been pressed into action.
“Those alive have been rescued and rushed to hospitals, but now the ones who have been killed are being pulled out from the damaged bogies. The toll is likely to rise further. Our sniffer dogs are also here at the site.”
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the accident spot Saturday morning to take stock of the situation. The Army, Air Force, NDRF and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRF) have been pressed into action.
Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Jena tweeted Saturday said that seven NDRF, five ODRAF and 24 fire service units, as well as local police and volunteers, were working tirelessly to carry out search and rescue operations.
Vaishnaw announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the critically injured and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an additional ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
Meanwhile, Patnaik has announced one-day state mourning due to the accident.
The list of casualties and injured is yet to be shared by the railway ministry or the district administration. The injured are undergoing treatment in Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Bhubaneswar.
‘Inquiry will be conducted’
Speaking to reporters at the site, Vaishnaw said complete mobilisation of rescue forces had been done from Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Tatanagar.
“I pray for those families who have lost their kin. We will give the best health facility to those injured in Cuttack, Kolkata and wherever possible,” he added.
The minister added that the commissioner of rail safety had been ordered to conduct a high-level inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. “It is important to get to the root cause,” he said.
“The focus at the moment is on rescue operations and tending to the injured. Restoration work will begin soon, machines have been brought in. The death toll will be updated by the state administration,” Vaishnaw said.
Speaking about the magnitude of the accident, Odisha DG fire services, Sudhanshu Sarangi, who was at the spot, said he had never witnessed a train accident like this.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also has rushed a team of government officials to Balasore to assist and coordinate with the Odisha government.
Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen and Bengal minister Manas Bhuniya are en route to Odisha. A list of passengers is yet to be shared by the Railways.
This is not the first accident involving the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express. In February 2009, the same train had derailed in Odisha’s Jajpur district while changing tracks.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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