By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 2, 2023: More than 50 people are feared dead and over 400 injured after a passenger train hit derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express, which runs from Shalimar station in West Bengal to Chennai, in Balasore district on Friday evening. A goods train was also involved in the accident, as per Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena.

The collision took place near the Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district and several passengers are feared to be trapped inside the overturned coaches of the superfast train. The second train involved in the accident was the Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express.

“At around 7 pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah dashed into those derailed coaches resulting in the derailment of its 3-4 coaches,” Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The injured passengers were admitted to the Balasore Medical College, Community Health Centers in Soro, and Gopalpur and a Primary Health Centre in Khantapada.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries.

The office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said teams have been sent to the site of the accident for a search and rescue operation. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed state Disaster Management minister Pramila Mallik and senior officers of the SRC along with fire services to supervise the operation.

Naveen also paid a visit to the control room at the office of the Special Relief Commissioner. The state government is also arranging generators and lights at the accident site to aid the operation. Three NDRF teams have arrived at the site where the accident happened.

Pradeep Jena, the Chief Secretary of Odisha, said around 50 ambulances has arrived at the accident site but the number of injured passengers is beyond the capacity of the vehicles.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries.

“Large numbers of buses are being mobilised to shift the injured to hospitals,” he added.

The District Magistrate of Balasore has also been directed to reach the accident site to make all necessary arrangements and inform the SRC if any additional help is required from the state level.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the state government is coordinating with the Odisha government and South Eastern Railways to help the rescue operation.

She added that the Bengal government is sending a team of five to six members to aide the Odisha government.

Helpline numbers have been set up in different areas to help the victims of the accident and to answer queries. The helpline numbers for Balasore are 8249591559 and 7978418322, for Howrah it is 033-26382217, for Kharagpur the numbers are 8972073925 and 9332392339, and 9903370746 for Shalimar.

The collision near the Bahanaga railway station has affected the schedule of several trains and many of them have been cancelled or diverted.