Odisha train accident: None of the dead identified so far are from TN, govt says

CHENNAI: None of the 70 dead bodies identified so far by the Odisha government were of people from Tamil Nadu, said a TN team comprising ministers Udhayanidhi Stalin and S S Sivasankar and senior bureaucrats, which is coordinating rescue and relief operations in Odisha.

Chief minister M K Stalin instructed the team to stay in Odisha for a few more days and ensure that all the passengers who were bound for Tamil Nadu reach Chennai safely.

According to government sources, the state emergency control room tried to contact 127 passengers (who had given TN addresses while booking train tickets) of Coromandel Express and found 116 were safe until 9 pm on Saturday. Similarly, four out of five passengers of Bengaluru-Howrah Express were safe. The rest had either switched off their mobiles or did not respond. In some cases, contact details were not available.

During a video conference with the chief minister on Saturday evening, the ministers’ team said they visited Balasore government hospital to meet the injured, but none was from Tamil Nadu.

“Udhayanidhi said the team also visited a hospital in Cuttack and found that none was from Tamil Nadu. The team also quoted the district administration saying that none of the 70 bodies identified so far in four places in Balasore, where the bodies of 237 passengers who died in the accident are kept, are of people from Tamil Nadu,” said a government release.

A team led by the ministers visited Balasore in a chopper and has been monitoring and supporting the rescue operations, while another team gathered information on the dead/injured from Odisha government control room.

The details of those who travelled in the trains that met with the accident were being verified with their relatives with the support of Southern Railway's passenger reservation list, officials said. During the meeting, Stalin inquired about the details received so far at the state emergency operation centre at Ezhilagam. The officials informed him that three government medical college hospitals in Chennai were ready to treat the injured.

The ministers met Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the latter’s residence in the evening. “Chief minister Patnaik assured them that all possible care has been taken for the treatment of the injured. Family members of the injured or dead persons are being provided with all help,” said an official release from the CMO, Odisha.

Earlier in the day, Stalin announced that the state government would observe one-day mourning and all government programmes, events and the public meeting to celebrate the birth anniversary of late chief minister M Karunanidhi scheduled on Saturday were cancelled. He visited the Southern Railway control room and the state emergency operation centre at Ezhilagam. He also had a video call with Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Jena on the rescue operation and offered medical assistance, if needed.

Later, Stalin told reporters that Tamil Nadu government had been working closely with the Odisha government and a special train had been arranged for those who were caught in the accident and could not return to Chennai due to cancellation of services. Stalin announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.


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