Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the train accident site in Odisha early on Saturday to take stock of the situation and assess the ongoing search and rescue efforts to locate survivors and victims. Speaking to the media, he made the following statement, "It's a big tragic accident. Railway, NDRF, SDRF, and State govt are conducting the rescue operation. Best possible healthcare facilities will be provided. Compensation was announced yesterday. A high-level committee has been formed to inquire about it. Our focus is on rescue and relief operations. Restoration will begin after clearance from district administration. A detailed high-level inquiry will be conducted and the rail safety commissioner will also do an independent inquiry."
Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Jena on Saturday confirmed that the death toll in the horrific train derailment in Balasore had risen to 233. "The death toll in the horrific train accident in Odisha's Balasore has risen to 233," Jena told ANI.
One day mourning in state following tragedy
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has declared a day of mourning on Saturday in the wake of the train derailment. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared a day's mourning on Saturday, saying that no state celebrations would be held on the day. The announcement was made through an official release by the state I&PR Department.
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin also declared one day mourning period in the state following the deadly tragedy in Odisha.
Odisha CM expresses sorrow over accident
After visiting the site earlier on Saturday, he made the following statement, "extremely tragic train accident...I have to thank the local teams, local people & others who have worked overnight to save people from the wreckage...Railway safety should always be given the first preference...The people have been taken to hospitals in Balasore and Cuttack so that they recover as fast as possible."
Punjab CM expresses grief
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday expressed grief at the train accident that killed more than 200 people in Odisha. "Deeply saddened to hear the unfortunate news of the train accident in Balasore in Odisha. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the accident. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray to God that those who were injured in the accident get well soon," said Mann in a tweet.
What happened in the accident?
Several coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga station in Odisha's Balasore after hitting a goods train. According to Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place around 7 pm on Friday.
"Around 7 pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah dashed into those derailed coaches resulting in the derailment of its 3-4 coaches," Sharma told ANI.
(With inputs from ANI)
