New Delhi:
Over 200 people were killed and 900 were injured when a passenger train hit the derailed coaches of another train in Odisha’s Balasore Friday evening. A third freight train was also involved in the accident, Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena told NDTV.
The crash, one of the deadliest in India in recent times, involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train.
Citing the latest report, Odisha Chief Secretary said the death count stands at 233, while around 900 people were injured in the accident that occurred in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.
Death toll rises to 233 in the Balasore Train Accident. @CMO_Odisha@IPR_Odisha@RailMinIndia@SecyChief@SRC_Odisha
– Pradeep Jena IAS (@PradeepJenaIAS) June 3, 2023
The rescue operations are on and all hospitals in the nearby districts have been put on alert. Three NDRF units, 4 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force units, over 15 fire rescue teams, 30 doctors, 200 police personnel and 60 ambulances have been mobilised to the site, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep told NDTV.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has declared one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted to say that that air force has been called in to help with rescue operations.
“Rushing to the site in Odisha. My prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured and condolences to the bereaved families. Rescue teams mobilised from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. NDRF, State govt. teams and Airforce also mobilised. Will take all hands required for the rescue ops,” he tweeted.
Mr Vaishnaw has also announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those who have died, Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries in the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too expressed his distress over the accident, and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw and took stock of the situation. Rescue ops are underway at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted she is monitoring the situation continually personally with the Chief Secretary and other senior officers.
So far, 18 long-distance trains have been cancelled due to the accident, which happened on the Howrah-Chennai main line in the Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway.
