A special train carrying 293 passengers who were stranded after the massive train accident in Odisha on Friday, June 2, arrived in Chennai around 4.30 am on Sunday. The train arrived at the Chennai Central railway station early on Sunday morning, where 137 of the passengers deboarded. Eight survivors had suffered minor injuries in the mishap, and were attended by medical teams stationed at the railway station itself, Health Minister of Tamil Nadu Ma Subramanian told the media. As many as 13 people have been admitted to Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and 17 were treated as outpatients.
So far, no Tamil Nadu residents have been discovered among the casualties of the triple train crash in Odisha’s Balasore, the Health Minister said. However, Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of any deceased persons from Tamil Nadu, and an amount of Rs 1 lakh for those injured in the accident.
State Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran, and Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Gagandeep Singh Bedi addressed a press meet at Chennai Central on Sunday, in which they said that the passengers were received safely and medical attention was given to those needed. Further, there is also a medical team on standby at Chennai airport, to provide treatment to any survivors returning by air, they said. Health Minister Subramanian also said that there were 207 ICU beds and 250 green-zone beds kept ready in six hospitals in Chennai.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Transport Minister SS Sivasankar met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the latter's residence in Bhubaneswar on Saturday evening. They went to Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situation, especially regarding the passengers from Tamil Nadu. Patnaik reportedly assured them that all possible steps have been taken for the treatment of the injured. The family members of the injured or the deceased are being provided with all help, he reassured.
Stalin appreciated the efforts of the Odisha administration in the rescue and treatment of the injured people. He also thanked CM Patnaik for the Odisha government’s quick response and said that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide any support required.
On Friday, a massive train accident occurred in Odisha’s Balasore district when the Coromandel Express from West Bengal to Chennai crashed into a stationary goods train near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station, causing several coaches of the train to derail. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express passing by on the adjacent track crashed into the derailed coaches, causing coaches of the second train also to derail. As of Saturday night, the death toll stood at 288 with more than 800 persons injured.
(With IANS inputs)