'Extremely Tragic, Railway Safety Should Be Top Priority': Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik At Accident Spot

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, who visited the train accident site at Balasore this morning, thanked the locals and said railway safety should be top priority.

Calling the Balasore train accident extremely tragic, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the injured have been rushed to hospital and thanked the locals who were the first responders and helped in rescuing people trapped in the wreckage after from the overturned coaches of the trains.

He said, "Extremely tragic train accident...I have to thank the local teams, local people, and 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."

He arrived after Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the accident site and said that a detailed high-level inquiry will be conducted and the rail safety commissioner will also do an independent inquiry. He took stock of the situation and said that the government's focus is on rescue and relief operations.

Earlier, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep said that around 900 passengers have been injured in the incident. "So far around 900 passengers have been injured and are being treated in various hospitals in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur, and Cuttack districts. So far, 233 dead bodies have been recovered. The search and rescue operation is going on. One severely damaged bogie is left; NDRF, ODRAF, and Fire Service are still working to cut the bogie and try to recover the living or the dead..," he said.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan left for Odisha's Balasore while cutting short his visit to Kolkata. He is expected to reach the spot in a few hours, reported ANI.

Earlier in the day, Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar visited the injured in the Coromandel Express tragedy at Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital in Balasore. TMC MP Dola Sen also visited the spot and said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee might come to visit the people on Sunday. She added that the CM has sent her officials, doctors, and trauma ambulance from Kharagpur for now.

Coromandel Express Tragedy

Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was on its way to Howrah when several coaches derailed and fell on the adjacent tracks. Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express was on its way to Chennai when it collided with the derailed coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express. The derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express then hit the wagons of a goods train.

As per the information received from Kharagpur Divisional Railway Manager, the Shalimar-Howrah Coromandel Express was derailed at Bahanaga station at around 6:51 pm, while the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast train derailed at the same spot at 6:55 pm.

Odisha and Tamil Nadu will observe a one-day state mourning today to mourn the lives lost in this tragic accident.