Odisha Train Accident: US State Secretary Antony Blinken Dials Up EAM Jaishankar, Extends Support
Antony Blinken’s statement comes after US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday expressed condolences to the victims of Odisha train accident
US Secretary of State Antony Binken on Sunday held a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the Odisha train accident and expressed his support and sympathy for the victims of the accident, reported ANI. Blinken’s statement comes after US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday expressed condolences to the victims of the train accident and said they were both heartbroken by the tragic news of the deadly train crash.
"Our prayers go to those who have lost loved ones and the many who suffered injuries in this terrible incident," said Biden, according to an official White House statement.
"The United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that reunite our two nations - and people all across America mourn alongside the people of India. As the recovery effort continues, we will hold the people of India in our thoughts," the statement added.
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On Saturday, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Odisha train accident.
“Deeply saddened to hear of the tragedy in Balasore. Our hearts go out to our partners in India,” he tweeted
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti said, “On behalf of the U.S. Mission in India, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic train accident in Balasore. We stand with India and the people of Odisha in this time of grief.”
Several world leaders reacted to the triple train accident after after three trains — Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah SF Express, and a freight train — piled near Bahanaga railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday night claiming the lives of 275 people while over a thousand people were injured.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto, and Afghanistan's Taliban government on Saturday sent a message of condolence over the loss of life in the train accident, one of the worst in the last 20 years in India.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, South Korean President YoonSuk-yeol also offered their condolences to bereaved families of the deceased.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian President Giorgia Meloni expressed their sorrow over the loss of lives.
Australia, Maldives, and Turkey also issued statements reacting to the tragic incident.