West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Odisha’s Balasore on Saturday to take stock of the situation after at least 238 passengers were killed and 900 injured in the Friday mishap involving two passenger trains and a goods train. “West Bengal CM is likely to reach Balasore by this afternoon to take stock of the situation and will also meet injured,” according to sources.
By Saturday morning, the death toll has risen to 238 in the June 2 collisions in which the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on its way to Howrah, derailed and fell on adjacent tracks at Bahanaga Bazar of the South Eastern Railway in Balasore. The incident took place at 7.10 pm around 140 km from Kharagpur in West Bengal. The Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express arriving from the opposite direction on a parallel track rammed into the derailed coaches of the Howrah bound train. Some of derailed Coromandel Express coaches hit a stationary goods train on the third track.
“As per the information received till now, there are 238 casualties. Around 650 injured passengers have been taken to the Hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro,” the South Eastern Railway said. The 12864 Sir M Visvesvaraya (Bengaluru)-Howrah Express Superfast Express travelled towards Howrah with 1000 passengers. A special train carrying 200 stranded passengers is now headed from Balasore to Howrah.
Earlier Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation. NDRF, state government and Air Force teams have been mobilised for rescue operations.
