Page 9 - Train Accident

Odisha train accident: 39 more bodies brought to AIIMS Bhubaneswar

Thirty-nine more bodies of those who lost their lives in the Balasore train accident were brought to AIIMS here so that these mortal remains could be handed over to their family members without any hassle after completion of the identification process, officials said on Wednesday. These bodies were taken from Balasore and kept in six hospitals in the city on Sunday but the bereaved family members are facing difficulties as they have been visiting various health facilities in search of their loved ones, they said. "Thirty-nine more bodies were received by AIIMS Bhubaneswar and put in refrigerated containers early on Wednesday," the official of the health facility said. There were initially 123 bodies in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, and of which, 71 were handed over to families. "With 39 more bodies shifted to AIIMs, we now have 91. The families searching for their loved ones need to visit here only," the hospital official said. The East Coast Railway on ...

Over 1,000 lives saved by Odisha people in Balasore train crash: Patnaik

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday claimed that the people of the state have saved over 1,000 human lives in the Balasore train crash as they swung into action immediately after the accident. People providing support to rescue operations and the long queues for blood donation are "sights rare but invaluable". He was speaking at a function where 1,205 medical officers joined the state government. After observing one-minute silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the tragedy, Patnaik said the efforts of locals have manifested the compassion and humanity of the people of Odisha. "Doctors, medical students, general public, and all had one thing in mind - Let's save life as many as we can. And we have saved more than a thousand lives. People providing support to rescue operations and the long queues for blood donation are sights rare but invaluable. I am proud of my people. I am proud of Odisha," the chief minister said. Recalling the train accident, the CM said

Train crash: LIC to open helpdesks at Bengal railway stations from Wed

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will open dedicated helpdesks at some railway stations in West Bengal from Wednesday to offer assistance to family members of those who lost their lives in the Balasore train accident for claim settlement. LIC Zonal Manager (East) Ajay Kumar said dedicated helpdesks at various railway stations, such as Howrah, Shalimar, Kharagpur and Medinipur, will be operational to offer spot assistance in addition to services from branches. "I am waiting for the list of the deceased from the railways so that we can contact their family members and deploy our resources for identification to settle claims. It will be an extended help to the family in this hour of crisis," Kumar told PTI. The life insurer had said it would expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief for the victims of the triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore on June 2. Over 275 people were killed and more than 1,100 passengers were injured in the train crash. More such ..

Odisha govt revises death toll in Balasore triple train crash to 288

The Odisha government on Tuesday revised the death toll in the Balasore train crash to 288. Speaking to reporters, Chief Secretary PK Jena said, 275 deaths were confirmed till Monday, and after verification of bodies, the figure was raised to 288. Jena said that 205 bodies of the the total 288 have been identified so far and handed over to their families. The remaining 83 bodies were kept at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and other hospitals for identification, he said. "We have received many queries on the helpline numbers released by the government. We are optimistic that all bodies will be identified," Jena said. He said the state government was bearing the cost of treatment of the injured, and transportation of bodies to respective destinations. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sanctioned Rs 1.95 crore for ex-gratia payment to the families of 39 deceased persons from Odisha. According to the government, Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each deceased persons as ex-gratia. The

Odisha train crash: Railway Minister Vaishnaw holds meetings with officials

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who returned to Delhi from Balasore in Odisha after reviewing the rescue and restoration work following the triple train accident, is holding a series of high-level meetings with officials here on Tuesday. After meeting senior Railway Board officials in the morning, Vaishnaw is now meeting general managers (GMs) and divisional railway managers of zonal railways. The virtual meeting which began at around 5 pm is expected to take a couple of hours to finish, sources said. In the meeting with the Railway Board officers, the minister instructed officials to draw out plans to make the railway network completely tamper proof from external elements, they said. On Monday, the Railway Board had issued instructions to all GMs to ensure that the protocol around the signalling systems are made tamper-proof. The train accident in Balasore involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying over 2,5

Opposition trying to score political points over train incident: Hardeep

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday accused opposition parties of trying to take "political mileage" on the recent train accident in Odisha and said the response of the government to reach out to the victims was swift to save the previous lives. He said the democracy in India is robust and no power can erode it, defending the Income Tax raids on BBC. He said the "previous actions" of the broadcaster suggested that it was in the hands of the "people with agenda on India". Puri was in Jammu to highlight the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, which recently completed its nine years in power. "My first engagement on reaching Jammu (on Monday) was a meeting with party workers. We observed a two-minute silence for all the lives lost and to pray for recovery of those injured in the train accident (on June 2)," the Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister told reporters at the BJP headquarters here. Responding to a question about the opposi

Train accident: Migrant workers' body demands judicial probe, compensation

The West Bengal Migrant Workers Union on Tuesday has demanded a judicial probe on the derailment of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel train near Bahanaga railway station in Odisha's Balasore district

Train crash: Man recovers his 'dead' son alive in Balasore makeshift morgue

Howrah resident Helaram Mallik travelled 235km to Balasore to recover his son alive from a makeshift morgue where he was kept with the bodies of those killed in the triple train accident. After pulling out his 24-year-old son Biswajit from the morgue at Bahanaga High School, Helaram rushed to Balasore Hospital before bringing him to Kolkata's SSKM Hospital. Biswajit, who suffered multiple bone injuries in his limbs, underwent two surgeries at the trauma care unit of SSKM Hospital here. "I saw the news on TV and then realised that I must call Biswajit to find out if he was okay. He did not initially pick up the calls and then when he did, I could hear a feeble voice on the other side," Helaram, who runs a kinara shop in Howrah, said. On the same night (June 2), he and his brother-in-law Dipak Das left for Balasore in an ambulance. "We could not find him as calls to his mobile went unanswered. We visited different hospitals but Biswajit was nowhere. We then went to a makeshift morgu

Odisha train accident: Bengal CM Mamata meets injured patients in Cuttack

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday visited injured passengers of the ill-fated Coromandel Express who are currently admitted in different hospitals in Cuttack. She visited the eye and surgery department of SCB Medical College and Hospital and interacted with the patients and assured them of all possible help. We are trying to help the injured passengers in all possible ways and had already dispatched teams of doctors, nurses and officers to take care of the injured passengers on the night of the accident on June 2, she told reporters here. Banerjee said there are 57 injured passengers from West Bengal in SCB Medical College. Some have lost their limbs, some of them have lost their eyes. It's such a tragedy that cannot be described through words, she told reporters. The Bengal Chief Minister said 103 bodies of passengers from West Bengal who died have so far been identified while 30 were still missing. I have already announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the

CBI takes over investigation into Balasore train accident, files FIR

Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday announced that a CBI probe in the triple train crash has been recommended

Coromandel Express accident: Over 100 bodies remain unclaimed after search

The disaster struck on Friday, when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped the tracks and hit another passenger train passing in the opposite direction near the district of Balasore

Signals, systems, checks, balances: Explaining the Odisha train disaster

The Indian Railways is deploying a new train control system, as pressure on its infrastructure increases

Balasore train accident: Rescuer suffered hallucinations, says NDRF DG

Traumatised by what they saw when they reached the three train crash site in Odisha's Balasore district, one NDRF rescuer hallucinated that he was seeing blood and another lost his appetite, the director general of the force said on Tuesday. Nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were deployed for rescue operations following one of the worst railway disasters in India that killed at least 278 people and injured more than 900. According to official data, the force rescued 44 victims and retrieved 121 bodies from the spot. "I recently met the personnel who were involved in the rescue operation following the Balasore train accident... Someone told me he hallucinated that he was seeing blood every time he saw water. Another said he lost the urge to eat after this rescue operation," NDRF DG Atul Karwal said. In his inaugural address at the one-day 'Annual Conference on Capacity Building for Disaster Response-2023' being organised by the NDRF at the Vigyan Bhawan here, he said

CBI begins Coromandel Express crash probe, collects first-hand report

A 10-member CBI team, which is in Odisha to probe the triple train accident, inspected the tracks, signal room and talked to railway officials at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district on Tuesday. The CBI probe was recommended by the Railway Board on Sunday. In all, 278 people have lost their lives and over 1,200 injured in the June 2 train crash. A forensics team, which is accompanying the CBI officials, also spoke to signal room employees and sought information about the functioning of different equipment. The CBI will probe criminal angles into the accident as the Railways suspect sabotage and outside intervention behind the accident. Khurda Road Division DRM Rinkesh Roy had suspected physical tampering' of the signaling system. The Central agency had taken over Balasore GRP case No. 64 registered by Odisha Police on June 3, a day after the accident. "The CBI will probe all aspects. It is gathering information and the Railways will extend full cooperation," said South Ea

Ashwini Vaishnaw holds meetings with officials, after returning from Odisha

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who returned to Delhi from Balasore in Odisha after reviewing the rescue and restoration work following the triple train accident, is holding a series of high-level meetings with officials here. He is scheduled to speak to general managers of all zonal railways later in the evening through video conferencing, sources said. Sources said that the meeting focused on safety drills in zones with a special focus on signalling and telecom across the railway network. The train accident in Balasore involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying over 2,500 passengers, and goods train laden with iron ore occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. At least 278 people were killed and more than 900 were injured in the accident.

How to book train insurance for less than a rupee, claim up to Rs 10 lakh

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) provides an optional travel insurance policy for passengers buying tickets from its online portal.

Odisha accident: 12 parties demand Rail min's resignation, reject CBI probe

Rejecting a CBI probe into the Balasore train accident, Odisha units of 12 political parties, including Congress and Left parties, on Monday demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team and resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to pave way for an impartial inquiry. The parties, including Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(ML) Red Star, All India Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party, RJD, NCP, RPI, AAP and Samata Kranti Dal, held a joint meeting here and passed a resolution stating that they rejected a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), accusing the central agency of "working at the behest of the BJP". They demanded that a court-monitored investigation by the central SIT be conducted into the case. However, the ruling BJD in Odisha welcomed the CBI probe and hoped that the "real culprit" behind the incident will be caught. "There is no problem with a CBI probe. We want the real culprit to be nabbed," senior BJD leader and Odisha minister ..

Train tragedy: Insurers ease claims process, set up helpline for settlement

Many insurance players, including SBI Life, on Monday announced the prioritisation of claims related to victims of the tragic train accident in Balasore (Odisha) to provide immediate financial relief to families. General Insurance Council chairman Tapan Singhel said, "As an industry, to support the rebuilding of our community, we have created a dedicated helpline and digital capabilities so that it is easier for customers or their family members to reach insurers". Insurers have allocated specialised teams to expedite such claims and ensure a seamless claim process for policyholders, Singhel, who is also managing director of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said. "We are reaching out to our customers in the affected region proactively to ensure they are safe and in case of a requirement then that their claims are also being prioritised. Insurance companies have also deployed their resources on-sight for immediate resolution and assistance," he said. SBI Life has taken steps to ease

Railways spent over Rs 1 trn of RRSK funds on safety in 5 years: Report

The Railways has announced a high-level probe as well as an independent inquiry by the Commissioner of Rail Safety, which comes under the Ministry of Civil Aviation

Train accident: Railways releases links with details of affected people

To help families locate their kin affected by the triple train accident in Balasore, the railways, in coordination with the Odisha government, has prepared three online links with photos of those killed and lists of passengers admitted to different hospitals. "In order to facilitate the families of those who are still unaware about whereabouts of their relatives in the triple train accident in Bahanaga, Odisha, Indian Railways with the support of Odisha government has taken an initiative to locate them. "The family members/relatives/friends and well-wishers of the passengers affected in this unfortunate accident can locate using the link of photos of deceased, lists of passengers admitted in different hospitals and also about unidentified bodies using these following detail," the railways said in a statement. The railways has appealed to people to use the three links -- link of photos of the deceased ( https:rcodisha.nic.in/Photos%20Of%20Deceased%20with%20Disclaimer.pdf ), link of .