A major train accident took place in Balasore, Odisha on Friday evening at around 6:51 pm. Coromondal Express (12841) and goods train collided near Bahnaga station here...

In this painful accident, 237 people died and 900 people were injured. Earlier, there was information about the death of 50 and then 70 passengers, late night this number had increased to 120. Also, more than 350 injured were reported. Although the rescue operation is going on and the number of dead is increasing.

Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena confirmed that 237 people have died and 900 people are injured in the accident.

Earlier, Odisha Fire Services DG Sudhanshu Sarangi had told that 'we have recovered more than 120 bodies, the death toll may increase.' 

- The injured have been admitted to Soro CHC, Gopalpur CHC and Khantapada PHC. At present, all the trains on this route have been stopped. Rescue operation is going on. The death toll may increase. At present, 5 teams of NDRF have gathered with the administration for relief and rescue.

- Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told that about 50 ambulances have been deployed to take people. But the number of injured is very high. That's why a large number of buses are being mobilized to take the injured to the hospital.

- Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told that NDRF and SDRF teams are on the spot. Apart from this, 600-700 rescue force personnel are working. This rescue operation will run overnight. All the hospitals are cooperating. Our immediate concern is to save the victims.

- A total of three trains collided in the accident. According to information, SMVB-Howrah Express (12864), Coromandel Express and goods train collided. First the Howrah Express collided with the goods train, then the goods train collided with the Coromandel.

- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav will visit the accident site tomorrow. Along with this, he has announced compensation. He tweeted that ₹ 10 lakh has been announced for the families of the dead, ₹ 2 lakh for the seriously injured and ₹ 50,000 for the minorly injured.

 
The President expressed grief over the train accident The President has also expressed grief over the train accident. On behalf of the President of India, the tweet said that 'Deeply saddened to know about the loss of lives in an unfortunate train accident in Balasore, Odisha. My heart aches for the bereaved families. I wish success in the rescue operations and speedy recovery of the injured.  
The state government is arranging generators and lights on the spot for rescue operations. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed Minister Pramila Mallick and Special Relief Commissioner to reach the accident site immediately. 

Helpline Numbers Issued 

- Emergency Control Room: 6782262286 
- Howrah: 033-26382217 
- Kharagpur: 8972073925, 9332392339 
- Balasore: 8249591559, 7978418322 
- Kolkata Shalimar: 9903370746 
- Rail Madad: 044- 2535 4771 
- Chennai Central Railway: 044- 25330952, 044-25330953 and 044-25354771 

TMC demands resignation 
Let us tell you that the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Friday over the gruesome triple train accident in the neighboring state of Odisha. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that instead of installing anti-collision devices in trains to prevent such accidents, the Center was spending crores of rupees on developing software to spy on opposition leaders. 

He said the Narendra Modi government at the Center is bragging about Vande Bharat trains and newly constructed railway stations to gain political support by "misleading the public", but neglecting safety measures. 

CPI MP also accused of neglect 
On the other hand, the CPI MP has accused the government of focusing only on luxury trains. MP Binoy Vishwam has said that, 'The government's focus is only on luxury trains. Trains and tracks of common people are neglected. The deaths in Odisha are the result of that. He said that the Railway Minister should resign. 

5 trains canceled and 5 diverted 
Due to the accident, the Railways has canceled six trains, while five have been diverted. Puri Express 12837, Yesvantpur Express 12863, Santragachi Puri Special 02837, Shalimar Sambalpur 20831, Chennai Mail 12839 are cancelled. See list-

Mamta tweeted about the accident
West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee tweeted about the accident. He wrote- Shocked to know that the Shalimar-Coromandel Express carrying passengers from West Bengal collided with a goods train near Balasore this evening and some of our people going out were seriously injured.

We are coordinating with Odisha Government and South Eastern Railway for the betterment of our people. Our emergency control room has been activated immediately with the numbers 033- 22143526/22535185. All efforts have been started for rescue and assistance.

We are sending a team of 5-6 members to the spot to cooperate with Odisha Government and Railway authorities and assist in rescue operations. I am personally monitoring the situation continuously along with the Chief Secretary and other senior officers.

Southern Railway, Chennai Division issued helpline numbers
Southern Railway, Chennai Division has issued helpline numbers to help people after the Balasore train accident.

Balasore Train Accident - Southern Railway - Chennai Division Helpline Numbers

Southern Railway - Chennai Division Helpline Number

1) Central Helpdesk in Commercial Control- 044-25354771. 044-25330952 & 044-25330953, Mobile No. 9003061974
2) Chennai Central Station: 044 25354148 & 044 25330714
3) Katpadi Station: 9498651927
4) Jolarpet Station: 77080 61811
Helpdesks have also been set up at Chennai Central, Katpadi and Jolarpettai stations.

Route changed, diversion of many trains
Due to this horrific train accident in Balasore, Odisha, routes of many trains have also been diverted. These trains had started the journey from their departure station. Now before reaching the destination, the route of these trains has been changed.

1. 15644 (Kamakhya-Puri) journey commencing on 01.06.23. This train will be diverted via Kharagpur-Tata Nagar-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Singapore road.
2. 12508 (Silchar-Thiruvananthapuram) journey commencing on 01.06.23. It will be diverted via Kharagpur-Tata Nagar-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Singapore road.
3. The journey of 22504 (Dibrugarh - Kanyakumari) has been started from 01.06.23. It will be diverted via Kharagpur-Tata Nagar-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Singapore road.
4. 12820 (Anand Vihar - Bhubaneswar) journey started on 02.06.23. It will be diverted via Netaji SC Bose junction Gomo-Anar-Chandil-Chakradharpur-Jaroli-Nayagarh.
5. 22812 (New Delhi-Bhubaneshwar) journey started on 02.06.23. It will be diverted via Gomoh-Anar-Chandil-Chakradharpur-Jharsuguda.
6. 12876 (Anand Vihar-Puri) journey started on 02.06.23. It will be diverted via Rajbera Block Hut-Bokaro Steel City-Purulia-Chandil-Songari-Dangoaposi-Jaroli-Nayagarh.
7. 22612 (New Jalpaiguri - Madras) train commencing on 02.06.23 will be diverted via Asansol - Anara - Chandil - Songri - Rourkela - Jharsuguda - Sambalpur - Singapore Road.
8. 07047 (Dibrugarh-Secunderabad) train commencing on 02.06.23 will be diverted via Bhatta Nagar-Kharagpur-Tata Nagar-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Singapore Road.

CM Naveen Patnaik announced one day state mourning
CM Naveen Patnaik has made a big announcement regarding the train accident that took place in Bahanaga Bazar, Balasore, Odisha. According to the announcement, on June 3, one day state mourning has been declared in the state. Therefore, no festival will be celebrated on June 3 in the entire state. The Information and Public Relations Department of Odisha has given this information.

So did the accident happen because of this?
According to the preliminary information, the engine of Coromandel Express has climbed over the goods train, which shows that the speed of the train was very high. The reason for the train accident has not been cleared yet, but both the trains had come on the same line. Now whose fault is it, it is being investigated.

Source : AajTak