The death toll of the train accident at Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district has increased to 288 persons and more than 800 persons have been injured. The massive train accident that involved two passenger trains and one goods train happened around 7 pm on Friday, June 2, when the Coromandel Express from West Bengal to Chennai crashed into a stationary goods train near the Bahanaga Bazar station, causing several coaches of the train to derail. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express passing by on the adjacent track crashed into the derailed coaches, causing coaches of the second train also to derail.
Rescue operations at Balasore have concluded. Injured persons have been moved to hospitals in various districts of the state, including the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack. A relief train carrying the passengers who survived the accident reached Howrah in West Bengal on Saturday afternoon. Another relief train is expected to arrive in Chennai on Sunday.
In the wake of the accident, railway traffic has been affected with several trains being cancelled, short terminated or short originated, and diverted. Railway bulletins say that 58 trains have been cancelled so far.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high level meeting at the Prime MInister's Office on Saturday morning and reached Balasore in the afternoon to take stock of the accident. The Prime Minister said that special care must be taken to ensure that the bereaved families don't face inconvenience and those affected keep getting all the assistance they need. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who reached Balasore earlier in the day, briefed the Prime Minister about the accident and also about the rescue and relief operations. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present at the accident site. The Prime Minister was earlier scheduled to flag off the first Vande Bharat Express train from Goa on Saturday, but the event was cancelled in the wake of the tragic accident in Odisha.
World leaders including Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK PM Rishi Sunak, Japan PM Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron, Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Bhutan PM Lotay Tshering, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and others expressed condolences