Odisha train accident | Ashwini Vaishnaw, Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee visit site

There was a minor disagreement between the West Bengal CM and the Railway Minister at the accident site

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with Odisha Patnaik takes stock of the situation at the site of the accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train , in Balasore district, Saturday, June 3, 2023. At least 261 people were killed and over 900 others suffered injuries, according to officials. | Photo Credit: PTI

The deaths from the train accident at Bahanaga Bazar railway station of Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2 rose sharply to 261 on June 3 while 1000 injured persons have been admitted to different hospitals.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the spot to take stock of the situation after the triple train accident which is being dubbed as one of the most tragic accidents in the country. Mr. Vaishnaw announced a high-level probe to ascertain the cause of accident.

There was a minor disagreement between the West Bengal CM and the Railway Minister at the accident site.

“There was something (error) behind the accident and it should be probed properly as so many lives have been lost. I have heard that the death toll could rise to 500. Three bogies have not been searched,” said Ms. Banerjee.

Watch | Odisha train tragedy kills over 200, hundreds injured

Mr. Vaishnaw, who was present there, retorted saying that rescue operations were over and the death-toll stood at 238.

PM Modi to visit Odisha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the accident site in the afternoon.

Rajesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Commercial Manager and Spokesperson of South East Railways narrated how the accident took place. “A goods train was stationary in the loop line. The 12841 Coromandel Express (Howrah- Chennai) which was running at 130 km per hour veered towards the loop line and hit the stationary goods train from behind at around 7 p.m. The signal had already been given for Coromandel to move along the mainline. We have no idea as to how Coromandel changed its direction towards loop,” said Mr. Kumar.

As a result of the massive collision, the engine portion of Coromandel climbed up the goods train. Coromandel had 22 bogies. Ten of them were unaffected while 12 were capsized.

“During this time, Yeshwantpur-Howrah was passing through Bahanaga Railway Station. The train had already crossed the accident site when its last two bogies which were general coaches got hit by the tail of Coromandel. Two general coaches of 12864 SMVBHWH Superfast Express (Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal- Howrah) train were impacted in this manner,” said the senior railway official.

The sound of the collision was so high that people from nearby areas rushed to the spot. Locals volunteered and broke open the windows to rescue victims.

“Local youths did not wait for government assistance to come. They contributed from their pockets and sent injured ones to hospitals. Even some autorickshaw drivers shifted injured ones free of cost,” Srikant Mohanty, a local resident.

Seven units of the National Disaster Response Force and five units of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 24 fire services units were immediately pressed into service. But, the magnitude of the accident was so high, that disaster response personnel aided by local people took the whole of Friday night and daytime of Saturday to pull out bodies.

More than 100 medical teams with paramedical staff and 200 ambulances along with medicines were mobilized to the accident site for medical treatment and shifting of injured ones. It proved to be a daunting ask.

Odisha observed June 3 as a day of mourning for the victims of the train accident. As many as 33 trains were cancelled and 36 were diverted to other routes.