In one of India’s worst rail catastrophes, three trains crashed one after another in a terrifying sequence in the Balasore region of Odisha, killing at least 288 people and igniting a massive rescue and evacuation effort.
Two hundred eighty-eight people have died, according to Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services. He said, “The rescue work is still going on,” he told news agency AFP from the accident site, adding there were “a lot of serious injuries”. Additionally, the Indian Army has been sent to help evacuate and provide medical care for injured civilians.
Image Source: Hindustan Times
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who was at the train accident site in Odisha, said, “Our focus now is rescue and relief operations.”
The minister noted that the investigation will reveal the reason for the train tragedy in Odisha. Around 7 p.m. on Friday, the horrible train accident occurred close to the Bahanaga Baazar station in the Balasore district, roughly 250 kilometres south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.
Image Source: Hindustan Times
According to a statement from the Indian Railways, A M Chowdhary, Commissioner of Railway Safety, South East Circle, will oversee the train disaster investigation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for the Commissioner of Railway Safety. On the approach to Howrah, several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express derailed and fell on adjacent tracks, according to an official.
“These derailed coaches collided with the 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and its coaches capsized too,” he said. He added that a goods train was also involved in the accident as some of the Coromandel Express coaches, heading to Chennai, hit its wagons after getting derailed.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has declared one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash. In addition, Mr Vaishnaw declared compensation amounts of 10 lakhs for those who died, two lakhs for those severely hurt, and 50,000 for those who suffered minor wounds.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the train mishap in Odisha. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 2, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow over the incident and announced compensation from the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) of 2 lakhs for the relatives of the deceased and 50,000 for the injured.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, stated that she and other senior bureaucrats, including the chief secretary, are continuously monitoring the situation.
Also Read: Bengaluru Airport Trains Cancelled: Passengers Left Unhappy
The accident on the Howrah-Chennai main line in the Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway has resulted in the cancellation of 18 long-distance trains thus far.
Image Source: NDTV
