Jalpaiguri man killed in Odisha train crash, 11 of group missing : 288 killed, 803 injured, Prime Minister visits accident site

PTI, Jalpaiguri (WB), Jun 3, 2023 :  Sagar Kheria of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal went to Bengaluru three months ago to work at a hotel, and was returning home when the train tragedy in Odisha took away his life.

Kheria, 30, even spoke to his parents around 6.45 pm on Friday, minutes before the triple train crash in Balasore district, a family member said on Saturday.

He was among 14 people from Nagarakata block in the district who went together to Bengaluru in search of work, officials said.

While Kheria died in the tragedy, two people of the group were injured and the rest missing, they said.

All of them were travelling on the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express. They were returning home for the first time, and were visibly happy, their distraught families said.

The two injured persons were identified as Dharmanath Singh, 19, and Aman Onrao, 24. Aman is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata, while Dharmanath is admitted at a hospital in Balasore, officials said.

A team from Nagrakata is heading to Balasore in search of the 11 others of the group who went incommunicado after the accident, they said.

Kheria is survived by his parents, a brother and two sisters. His father works at the tea garden as labourer, they added.

A pall of gloom descended on the area as the news of the accident came.

The accident involving three trains — Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train — killed at least 261 people and injured more than 900, in one of the worst railway tragedies in the country. 

The toll in the disastrous railway accident in Odisha has risen to 261and rescue operations at the site have been completed, a South Eastern Railway official said on Saturday. "The number of casualties in Friday's railway accident has increased to 261.Another 650 injured passengers are being treated at various hospitals in Odisha," SER spokesperson Aditya Chowdhury said. 

An inquiry into the accident will be held by the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), South Eastern circle, the official said. The train crash, one of the deadliest in the country, took place in Balasore district about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe. 

Three trains -the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train were involved in the accident. 

Prime Minister visits 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inspected the triple train accident site at Bahanaga in Odisha's Balasore district to take stock of relief and restoration operations.

He was accompanied by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and was briefed on the situation by both Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management team which worked overnight to rescue people at the disaster site where at least 261 people have died and 900 more injured. 

He also interacted with Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallik as well as the local police chief. Modi also inquired about the progress of restoration work launched at the mishap site to bring train services back to normal. 

Before reaching the accident site at Bahanaga Bazar, the PM had chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi on the train accident."

PM Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to take stock of the situation in the wake of the train mishap in Odisha. Aspects relating to rescue, relief and medical attention to those affected were discussed in there view meeting," his office tweeted. 

The accident involving three trains -- Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train -- killed at least 261 people and injured more than 900, in one of the worst railway tragedies in the country. 

Preliminary investigation results 

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the Coromandel Express train involved in a horrific rail tragedy in Odisha on Friday entered the loop line and crashed into a goods train parked there instead of the main line just ahead of the Bahanagar Bazar station, a source said. 

The coaches of Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express capsized after crashing into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track.

While Coromandel Express was at a speed of128 kmph, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was running at a speed of116 kmph. The report has been submitted to the Railway Board, sources said. The loop lines of the Indian Railways are constructed in a station area -- in this case, the Bahanagar Bazar station --to accommodate more trains to ease out the operations. 

The loop lines are generally 750 metres in length to accommodate full-length goods train with multiple engines. 

The two trains were carrying around 2,000 passengers. An eyewitness to the incident, Anubhav Das, also told PTI that local authorities and railway officials had initially indicated that the train he was travelling on --Coromandel Express -- had rammed into the goods train. However, none of these accounts was officially confirmed by the railways. 

While a thorough probe is underway, none of the authorities has so far talked about any possibility of sabotage. The preliminary probe report, a copy of which is with PTI, said the signal was given and taken off for the up main line for train number 12841, the train entered the loop line, dashed with the goods train and derailed. In the meantime, train number12864 passed through the down main line and two of its coaches derailed and capsized, the report said