Odisha train accident: Railways Minister Vaishnaw inspects restoration work

Railways Minister inspected the restoration work at Balasore where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved in a major accident, leaving 288 passengers dead, injuring over 1,000 people

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday inspected the restoration work at Balasore where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved in a major accident, leaving 288 passengers dead and injuring over 1,000 people.

"The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track," Vaishnaw told ANI.

Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), of South Eastern Railway, Aditya Kumar said that the capsized bogies have been removed and the work of connecting the track is going on from one side.

"Capsized bogies have been removed...Two bogies of goods train also have been removed...work of connecting track is going on from one side...will finish the work as soon as possible," Aditya Kumar told ANI.

Earlier on Saturday, the Railways Ministry informed that the restoration work is ongoing at war footing in Odisha's Balasore.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Railways said that the officials are closely monitoring the restoration process at the accident site.

"Restoration work is ongoing at Warfooting at the train accident site in Balasore, Odisha with 1000+ Manpower working tirelessly. At present, more than 7 Poclain Machines, 2 Accident Relief Trains, and 3-4 Railway and Road Cranes have been deployed for early restoration. Officials are closely monitoring the restoration process at the accident site," read the post on the official Twitter handle of the Railways ministry.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Mi-17 helicopters for the evacuation of the deceased and injured. According to the Eastern Command, IAF coordinated the rescue efforts with the civil administration and Indian Railways.

The preliminary report on the tragedy said the three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district. As many as 17 coaches of these two passenger trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident on Friday evening.