As of as now, 233 people have died and at least 900 more have been hurt and are receiving medical attention. Following a collision with a goods train, several coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed close to Bahanaga station in Balasore, Odisha.According to state chief secretary Pradeep Jena, work is being done to cut the only remaining bogie that was badly damaged in the terrible train disaster in Balasore, Odisha. The accident happened around 7.20 pm on Friday, near Bahanaga Bazar station when the train was on the way to Chennai Central station from the Shalimar station near Kolkata.According to the Chief Secretary, there have been 233 fatalities so far, and at least 900 people have been hurt and are receiving medical attention. He continued by saying that upon presentation of identification documents, the deceaseds kin receives the bodies of their relatives.Addressing a press conference, Chief Secretary said, “So far around 900 passengers have been injured and are being treated in various hospitals in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack districts. A total of 233 dead bodies have been recovered so far. The search and rescue operation is going on.”“Only one bogie is left, which is severely damaged. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and Fire Service are still working to cut the bogie and try to recover the living or the dead,” he added.As per officials, a total of around 200 ambulances, including 167 of 108 fleets and over 20 government ambulances were deployed at the spot, along with 45 mobile health teams. In addition to this, 50 additional doctors along with a team of 25 doctors from SCB have also been mobilised. Forensic medicine specialist (FMT) was also mobilised.Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday reached the accident spot in Balasore, where he took stock of the situation and also assured to conduct a detailed enquiry on the mishap. apart from this, he also announced the ex-gratia to the kin of deceased. He said, “Ex-gratia compensation to the victims of this unfortunate train accident in Odisha Rs 10 Lakh in case of death, Rs 2 Lakh towards grievous and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries.”Ex-gratia compensation to the victims of this unfortunate train accident in Odisha₹10 Lakh in case of death, ₹2 Lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries.— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) June 2, 2023
