Coromandel Express derails in Odisha's Balasore; 70 feared dead, over 350 injured

BALASORE: Over 70 passengers were feared dead while more than 350 others were injured, many of them critically, after several coaches were derailed in a major train accident involving the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express near Bahanaga railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening.

"At around 7 pm, about 12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Balasore and were scattered on the adjoining track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah crashed into those derailed coaches, resulting in the derailment of its 3–4 coaches," railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said.

However, till the edition was put to bed, there was no official confirmation with regard to the number of deaths.

Odisha chief secretary P.K. Jena, however, admitted that the administration had received reports of the deaths of some passengers. "We have got reports that some passengers have died. We’ll reveal the number of deaths after following the due procedure and identifying the victims," said Mr Jena.

An unaccounted number of bodies covered with white clothes were seen lying on the floor in Soro Hospital and Balasore district headquarters hospital.

Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force, four teams of the Odisha Disaster Action Force and 20 teams of the Odisha fire services were sent to the spot to rescue the injured passengers.

Nearly 300 passengers were rushed to the local Bahanaga, Soro and Balasore district headquarters hospitals.

Doctors from Bhubaneswar were also rushed to the accident sites. As many as 50 ambulances were deployed for the evacuation of the injured passengers.

Even three hours after the mishap, many passengers were still trapped under the railway coaches. Many others were also seen perilously ensnared in the mangled coaches and shouting for help.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed their grief over the tragedy.

Mr Vaishnaw is rushing to Odisha to take stock of the situation.

The Odisha CM went to the special relief commissioner’s office in the state secretariat in the late evening to oversee the rescue operation. Mr Patnaik said he will visit the accident site on Saturday to meet the injured passengers and oversee the relief and rescue work.

According to the state chief secretary, special teams of fire services and senior officials of the state government were sent to the accident site. Rescue operations have been launched and the injured are being shifted to Balasore hospital.

"Teams have left for the spot for search and rescue operations. The collector of Balasore has also been directed to reach the spot to make all necessary arrangements and intimate the SRC if any additional help is required from the state level," he said.

The SRC's office released an emergency control room number, 6782262286 for information and help relating to the mishap.

Odisha fire services D-G Sudhanshu Sarangi has been asked to oversee the entire rescue operation.

Train services on the route were seriously affected. Many trains were stranded at different stations.