Train tragedy: Odisha govt to bear transportation cost of bodies

The Odisha government will bear the transportation cost of bodies of the triple train accident victims to different states, Chief Secretary P.K. Jena said on Monday.

He said 170 bodies out of 275 have so far been identified in Balasore and Bhubaneswar.

Jena said, "Arrangements for free transportation of the bodies by hearses to various destinations will be done to help the bereaved families."

He added that death certificates will be provided at the earliest and will be sent electronically or through speed post to the families of the deceased.

The state government has announced two toll-free numbers 18003450061/1929 to help those looking for their missing relatives who were travelling in the ill-fated Coromandel Express on June 2.

He said people from across the country can dial the numbers to know about the deceased and injured.

People coming to Bhubaneswar in connection with the train accident are being helped by officials at the airport and railway station.

Photographs of dead passengers have been uploaded on srcodisha.nic.in, bmc.gov.in and osdma.org for identification.

In a press statement, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar said it had received 123 bodies and had already dispatched 24 (16 from West Bengal, 5 from Bihar, 2 from Odisha and 1 from Jharkhand) after identification till Monday morning.

At least 192 bodies were brought to Bhubaneswar from Balasore on Sunday and kept in the morgues of six private and government hospitals.

According to a government note, 1,207 injured persons were admitted in different hospitals out of which 1,009 have already been discharged.

"There are 198 injured passengers in different hospitals. The condition of all barring one is stable," the official said.

Around 51 hours after the triple train crash and barely five hours after the damaged tracks were restored, a coal-laden goods train from Vizag port to Rourkela Steel Plant became the first to run on the route around 10.40 pm on Sunday night.

The first high speed passenger train, Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express, passed through Balasore on Monday morning through the same tracks, officials said.

Three trains Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train were involved in the pile-up on Friday, being described as one of India's worst train accidents.

The Coromandel Express rammed into a stationary goods train and many of its carriages overturned including some onto another train, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express which was also passing by at the same time on Friday.