Odisha Train Accident: death toll rise to 288; helpline details here
Odisha Train Accident: The Coromandel Express train accident in Balasore district of Odisha, in which as many as 288 persons have died so far, could have been a driving error, initial reports emerging from the signaling control room of the railways stated.
Rescue operations have been completed after a three-way train accident last night in Odisha’s Balasore district claimed hundreds of lives and injuring close to a thousand travelers in what is claimed to be the country’s fourth deadliest train mishap.
The rescue operation has been completed, now we are starting the restoration work. Kawach was not available on this route, Amitabh Sharma, Railways spokesperson, told media. The video of the signaling control room shows that the Chennai bound Coromandel express train took the loop line where the goods train was parked just after crossing Bahanagar Bazar Railway station at about 6:55pm on Friday, instead of the main line.
The Coromandel express train running at the speed of 127 km/per hour collided with the goods train and derailed on the main line, an official said. The officials recalled that a similar type of accident happened in 1995 in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, where three trains collided because of a mistake by the driver.
Around 350 persons were killed in that tragedy and the rescue operations lasted for three days. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The accident saw one train ram so hard into another that carriages were lifted high into the air, twisting and then smashing off the tracks.
Another carriage had been tossed entirely onto its roof, crushing the passenger section. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a high-level committee will be set up to investigate the train crash. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has declared one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash.
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Mr Vaishnaw has 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 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).
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