The Odisha government, on Sunday, June 4, revised the death toll in the tragic triple train accident at Balasore to 275 and the total number of injured persons to 1,175. As of Saturday night, the number of deaths were reported to be 288. However, the government cited duplication of certain individuals in the list and revised the figures accordingly. "Some of the bodies have been counted twice at the accident site and also in hospitals. So, after proper counting, the final death figure stood at 275," said Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.
“Out of 275 dead bodies, 78 bodies were identified and handed over to their family members after autopsy,” he said, adding that the handing over of another 10 bodies was being processed. Jena said of the remaining 187 bodies, 170 have been brought to Bhubaneswar while another 17 were in transit to the capital city from Balasore. “The bodies have been brought to different mortuaries of Bhubaneswar in a dignified way by 85 ambulances. Only two bodies were brought in each ambulance,” he informed.
Stating that the major challenge before the government was to identify the bodies, the chief secretary said, "We have uploaded the pictures of the dead bodies on websites. If someone can identify the body of their family member, he/she can contact the helpline number 18003450061 /1929 (24A-7)." The pictures of bodies have been uploaded on the websites: https://srcodisha.nic.in/, https://www.bmc.gov.in, and https://www.osdma.org. The list of injured have also been uploaded in these websites. The government has also taken steps to provide death certificates to the family members of deceased persons in a hassle-free manner, he said.
As many as 1,175 patients were admitted to various hospitals, out of which 793 have been discharged. Most of the injured patients are in stable condition. A total of 382 passengers were undergoing treatment in various government and private hospitals.
The massive accident occurred on Friday, June 2 in Odisha’s Balasore district, when the Coromandel Express going from West Bengal to Chennai crashed into a stationary goods train near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station causing a derailment. In addition, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express passing by on the adjacent track crashed into the derailed coaches.
(With IANS inputs)