At least 261 killed, around 900 injured in Odisha triple train crash

TIL Desk/National/Odisha/ The toll in the disastrous railway accident in Odisha has risen to 261 and rescue operations at the site have been completed, a South Eastern Railway official said on Saturday.

“The number of casualties in Friday’s railway accident has increased to 261. Another 650 injured passengers are being treated at various hospitals in Odisha,” SER spokesperson Aditya Chowdhury said.

The train crash happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe.

The inquiry into the train accident will be led by A M Chowdhary, Commissioner Railway Safety, South East Circle, the Indian Railways said in a statement. The Commissioner Railway Safety comes under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on the way to Howrah, derailed and fell on adjacent tracks, an official said. “These derailed coaches collided with the 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and its coaches capsized too,” he said.