Train tragedy: Stalin dials Patnaik, forms panel to oversee Tamils rescue

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday spoke to his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik following the accident of the Coromandel Express train, and announced that he was deputing a four-member panel to coordinate the rescue of Tamils on the train.

At least 179 persons were injured and 50 were feared dead as four coaches of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express derailed in Odisha's Balasore district on Friday evening, following which it collided head-on with a goods train coming from the opposite direction on the other line.

Expressing shock over the accident, Stalin tweeted that he spoke to Patnaik and said the details shared by the latter about the accident were "worrying".

The chief minister also condoled the lives lost in the incident.

"I have asked Transport Minister S S Sivasankar and 3 IAS officials to rush to Odisha to rescue the Tamils involved in the accident. Have directed setting up a helpline," he added.

Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has set up a helpdesk at Chennai Central railway station here. It also announced the helpline numbers-- 044-25330952, 044-25330953 and 044-25354771.