New Delhi: At least 350 people were injured and around 50 others were feared dead as several coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening, following which it collided head-on with another train on the other line, officials said.
“At around 7 p.m., 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah dashed into those derailed coaches resulting in the derailment of its 3-4 coaches,” Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said.
Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner Satyabrata Sahoo said 47 people have so far been admitted to the Balasore Medical College and Hospital.
A reporter at the spot said several people were trapped under the derailed coaches, and locals were assisting emergency services personnel to rescue them, but darkness was hindering the operation.
Odisha’s Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said 132 injured persons were admitted to Soro, Gopalpur and Khantapada health centres, while 47 people were admitted to the Balasore Medical College and Hospital.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed Special Relief Secretary Satyabrata Sahoo and Revenue Minister Pramila Malik to rush to the accident site, officials said.
Accident relief trains have been dispatched to the spot, a South Eastern Railway official said.
Four units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), three units of NDRF and 60 ambulances were working to rescue the injured, officials said.
Reacting to the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock and said, “Some of our outbound people have been seriously affected/ injured.”
“We are sending a 5-6 members team to the spot to cooperate with the Odisha government and railway authorities and to assist rescue operations,” she added.
A team from Tamil Nadu led by its Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar would leave for Odisha to help Tamils affected in the train accident involving the Coromandel Express, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Friday night.
Mr. Stalin spoke to his Odisha counterpart Naveen Pattnaik and expressing concern over the train accident. Information shared by Mr. Pattnaik was “worrisome”, Mr. Stalin said in a social media post.
