Worst rail mishap in decades leaves 238 dead, 650 injured

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, June 3: The horrific three-train mishap near Balasore, Odisha, with coaches derailing and mounting over each other and also rammed into, is turning out to be the worst rail accident in India in decades. The Ministry of Railways has said that 238 passengers have died in the Friday mishap, while 650 injured are being treated in hospitals.

Death toll may rise further, as the teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) are still trying to retrieve bodies from within the badly mangled coaches of the two ill-fated trains. The impact of the collision of the Coromandal Express with the stationary goods train was such that the engine of the passenger train went on top of the other train. Also, the coaches derailed and fell on to other track, which were rammed by the incoming Howrah-Yeshwantpur Express train, turning the accident site into a heart-rending scene.

“Due to the tragic accident of train no. 12841 (Coromandal Express), coach number B2 to B9, A1 & A2 got capsized. Coach no…. B1 & engine got derailed. Coach H1 & GS coach also fell on rail track. In train number 12864 (Howrah-Yeshwantpur), one GS coach got damaged on rail, rear side GS & 02 bogies derailed and capsized, coach no A1 (went over) to engine on rail.

As of now, 38 casualties and more than 300 injured passengers are reported, the injured are being admitted to nearby health units,” the bulletin of the railways around midnight stated.

However, death toll sharply went up by morning as the bodies were retrieved. “Around 900 injured passengers are being treated at several hospitals in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack districts,” said Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Jena.

It may be recalled that the last major rail mishap took place in 2016 in Uttar Pradesh when Indore-Patna Express derailed allegedly on account of the track, which had left 160 passengers dead.

The identified bodies are either being handed over to their relatives or transported to their respective destinations after autopsy, he said, adding that statutory procedure will be followed for the unidentified ones.

A large number of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff from B R Singh Hospital & Orthopedics Hospital/ Howrah of Eastern Railway rushed to the accident site, said a railway official.

Shalimar-Chennai Coromandal Express and Sir M Visveswaraya-Howrah Superfast Express got derailed near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station at around 18.55 Hrs on Friday, said the railways. Accident Relief trains with medical equipments and doctors have also rushed to the site from Kharagpur and Bhadrak.