The accident took place at around 7 p.m. on June 2 when two coaches of 12864 (SMVB-HWH) Yashwantpur-Howrah Express derailed near Bahanaga Railway station in Balasore district. The derailed coaches tossed over to the adjoining track and hit the speeding 12841 Coromandal Express coming from the opposite direction. It led to derailment of about 17 bogies.
As on June 3 morning, at least 238 passengers were feared dead and more than 900 seriously injured in horrific rail accident in Balasore district of Odisha.
The Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, a long-distance train connecting West Bengal with Tamil Nadu had left Shalimar station earlier in the day. Its passengers comprise mostly residents of West Bengal who visit Tamil Nadu either for work or availing better healthcare facilities.
The rail accident is being described as one of the worst in recent times. In 2013, the Coramandel Express had met with an accident in Jajpur district of Odisha which is about 50 km away from the present accident site.
Here is a glimpse of the accident site and pictures of the trains that were derailed
Locals, security personnel and NDRF conduct search and rescue operation at the site where Coromandel, Bengaluru-Howrah Express trains derailed on June 2 night, in Balasore district.
South Central Railway (SCR) officials, who sounded an alert on the major train mishap occurred in Odisha, has said that Help Desks have been set up at Vijayawada and Rajahmundry railway stations.
Ambulances rush to the accident spot in Balasore on the highway on June 2 night.
Local people and volunteers gathered at the Soro hospital to help the injured train passengers near by the accident spot in Balasore district.
An official on June 2 said that a goods train too was involved in the accident as the coaches of the Coromandel Express hit its wagons after getting derailed.
Injured passengers were taken to the Hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro.
In view of the deadly accident, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared one-day State mourning on June 3 in view of the tragic rail accident.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has also solicited the help of the Air Force in the rescue operations.
On June 3, efforts were underway to cut the only bogie which was severely damaged after the horrific train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, state Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said.
The accident took place exactly near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.
For the benefit of the stranded passengers buses have been arranged in both Balasore and Bhadrak directions. Special trains will also run between Bhadrak-Chennai and Balasore-Howrah.
A drone view shows the derailed coaches.
The TMC demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s resignation over the horrific triple train crash in neighbouring Odisha. TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the Centre neglected the installation of anti-collision devices in trains to prevent such accidents.
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