Odisha (Balasore) Train Accident News HIGHLIGHTS: Balasore, the site of the horrendous triple train disaster in Odisha, was teeming with railway workers, on Sunday. Train movement resumed in the affected section where the horrific accident had happened that claimed 275 lives.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the root cause for the deadliest train mishaps that India has seen in decades has been identified. Electronic interlocking is being said as what caused the Coromandel Express to ram into the goods train.
As of now, the official death toll stands at 288. However, latest reports say that the tally has been revised to 275. Over 1,000 people have been injured in the crash. On Saturday, Indian Army and Indian Air Force were involved in the recue operations that has ended now.
The restoration work was being carried out by over 1,000 multi-disciplinary personnel. Tributes have been pouring in from around the globe. From US President Joe Biden to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, world leaders have expressed anguish over the loss of lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site in Balasore yesterday, dialed the railway minister in morning today to know the present situation.
Here are latest update on Odisha train accident
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took stock as the train movement resumed in the affected section where the horrific accident took place.
Balasore, Odisha: Train movement resumed in the affected section where the horrific accident happened that claimed 275 lives. Visuals from Bahanaga Railway station.
Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the official death toll in the Odisha train accident, and said nobody should play politics over the tragedy.
Balasore, Odisha: The downline track is ready, major damages were in the upline track. In next few hours, we are expecting to restore. All investigations will be done parallelly. The railway team is working continuously: Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Public Relations Officer, Southeastern Railway on Balasore train accident
Chief Secretary Odisha Pradeep Jena spoke on the revised death toll and restoration work which is currently underway in Balasore, Odisha.
Adani Group will take the responsibility of the school education of the wards of those deceased in the tragic Odisha train accident.
"We have decided that the Adani group will take the responsibility of the school education of those children who have lost their parents in this accident," Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani wrote on his Twitter.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government over the Odisha train accident, stating that 'Dal mein kuch kaala hai', we want the truth to come out". Odisha train accident claimed the lives of 275 people and over 1000 injured in Friday's accident, which is being described as one of the worst in the country.
"Rescue operation was completed and restoration work is underway. The work related to the track is done and overhead wiring work is going on. Patients are being treated at hospitals. Along with rescue operation, the restoration work was also started. The way this accident happened, looking at the conditions, and according to the administrative information. The Railway Board is recommending the probe to the CBI," said Ashwini Vaishnaw,
Railway Board has recommended the probe related to Odisha train accident to CBI, announced Indian Railways minister Vaishnaw.
The railways on Sunday virtually ruled out driver error and system malfunction, indicating a possible "sabotage" and tampering of the electronic interlocking system behind the triple train accident that claimed at least 288 lives in Odisha. (PTI)
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the restoration work at the triple train accident site in Odisha’s Balasore.
https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/1665319150300872710?s=20
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have begun packing their belongings, generators, and equipment, indicating the winding down of the rescue operations. (READ MORE)
We run 18,000 trains per day, just look at the stats
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge to probe the cause of the train accident in Odisha's Balasore district that has left 288 people dead. The plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari also sought directions to the Centre to immediately set up an expert commission headed by retired judge of the apex court and consisting of technical members to analyse and review the risk and safety parameters in the railway system and to suggest systematic safety modifications for strengthening Railway safety mechanism and submit its report to the court. (PTI)
The goods train did not get derailed. Since the goods train was carrying iron ores, the maximum damage of the impact was on Coromandel Express. This is the reason for a huge number of deaths and injuries. The derailed bogies of Coromandel Express came on the down line, and hit the last two bogies of Yashwantpur Express which was crossing at the speed of 126 km/h from down line: Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board (ANI)
Odisha govt has issued an appeal to people to come forward and claim the bodies that are lying in various morgues in and around Balasore. srcodisha.nic.in is the official website where details can be found.
The railway minister said that the accident occurred due to a change in electronic interlocking. (READ MORE)
An on-leave NDRF jawan travelling on the Coromandel Express was perhaps the first person to alert emergency services about the train's accident in Odisha's Balasore before he joined initial rescue efforts, officials said. The 39-year-old constable, posted with the NDRF's 2nd battalion in Kolkata, first called his senior inspector in the battalion to inform him about the accident. He then sent some pictures and the "live location" of the site on WhatsApp to the NDRF control room, and this was used by the first rescue teams to reach the spot, they said. (PTI)
At present, the Indian Railways is carrying out the restoration work at Howrah-Chennai route. Check out these pics to know the details.
As the restoration work continues at the site of horrific train disaster in Balasore, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the exact cause of this triple train crash has been identified. Talking about the next phase of work, he said that the focus is primarily on restoring the tracks so that the rail services can resume from Wednesday.
At least 35 passengers from West Bengal have lost their lives and 544 others suffered injuries in the Odisha train accident, the state government has said.
A number of world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emanuel Macron, expressed their condolences over the incident. The accident took place in Odisha's Balasore district last night. (PTI)
The Congress on Saturday slammed the government over the train accident saying PM Modi and rail minister has lots to answer.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Minister Udaynidhi Stali nand Transport Minister SS Shivsankar at his official resudence and took stock of the situation, especially on passengers of Tamil Nadu. During the meeting Patnaik assures all possible care.
The engine drivers and guards of two trains were injured in the Odisha triple trains which met accident in odisha last night are being treated in different hospitals, a railway official told PTI. The driver and the guard of goods trains have escaped unhurt.
The Ministry of Civial Aviation has asked all the airlines flying from Bhubaneswar to monitor any abnormal surge in prices of tickets today. Airlines have been told to keep a tab on pricing for any travel to or from Odisha to any part of the country.
The number of deaths in Balasore train crash has gone up to 288, news agency ANI says. the number of injured stand at 747 as of now.
"It's a painful incident. Govt will leave no stone unturned for the treatment of those injured, " PM Modi on Odisha Train Tragedy
News agency ANI says Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the restoration work that is underway. He also spoke to Cabinet Secretary and Health Minister from Balasore. The PM asked them to ensure all needed help is provided to the survivors and their families.