233 killed, more than 900 injured in Odisha train accident, union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav reaches the spot

Bhubaneswar, 03 June :  The death toll in the train accident in Balasore district of Odisha has risen to 233. More than 900 people were injured in the accident that took place near Bahanaga station at around 7.20 pm yesterday. The accident occurred due to a collision between two passenger trains and a goods train. union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav has reached the spot this morning. He is overseeing the relief and rescue operations.

Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said that bodies of 233 people have been retrieved so far. Around 900 passengers have been injured. The injured are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack districts. Search and rescue operation is on. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), ODRF and Fire Service are still trying to cut the bogie and rescue people alive or dead. The accident took place due to the collision of Shalimar Coromandel Superfast Express, Duronto Express and a goods train.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over this train accident. He spoke to union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and took stock of the situation. He said ? I am saddened by the train accident in Odisha. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Announcing the compensation, the Railway Ministry said Rs 10 lakh each will be given to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 as ex-gratia to those with minor injuries.

Jacob Kispotta, senior commandant of the National Disaster Response Force, said in the morning that six of our teams have been engaged in relief and rescue operations since night. Almost all the survivors have been evacuated. Now the dead bodies are being taken out. On the other hand, the Odisha government has announced one day state mourning.