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.
Some coaches of Coromandel Express, which was going from Howrah to Chennai, had derailed and fallen on to the adjacent tracks. Yashwantpur-Howrah Superfast train, coming from the other side, rammed the derailed coaches, Railway Ministry spokesperson Amitabh Sharma told NDTV.
The two trains involved in the accident are 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and 12864 Yashwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express.
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, the Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told NDTV.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has declared one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also rushed to the control room monitoring the search and rescue operation at the crash site. He also said in a tweet 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.
Railway Minister Ashwini 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.
PM Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over the tragedy. In a tweet, he said, “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. 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.”
