The death toll in the train accident in Balasore has risen sharply to 233 and the number of injured passengers is now at 900, Odisha chief secretary c on Saturday morning.
"According to the latest report from Speculation Relief Commissioner, Odisha, the toll from the Balasore derailment has risen to 233 while the number of injured passengers is now at 900," Jena said.
Currently, 3 NDRF, 4 ODRAF and 22 Fire Services personnel have been deployed for the rescue operations at the accident spot.
Jena further informed, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered the provision of free medical treatment to all the injured victims in the BSKY facility hospitals and other private hospitals. Cost of medical expenses shall be borne by the state.
Patnaik on Friday took stock of the situation and reviewed the rescue operations at Control Room, SRC, Bhubaneswar.
Jena also thanked the volunteers who donated blood to the accident victims in their hour of need.
"Five hundred units of blood collected overnight here at Balasore. Nine hundred units in stock at present. This will help in treating the accident victims. I'm personally indebted & grateful to all the volunteers who've donated blood for a noble cause," Jena said in a tweet.
CM Patnaik declared one-day state mourning on Saturday in view of the horrific train crash.
"Important Announcement: In view of tragic rail accident at Bahanaga, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Sri Naveen Patnaik has ordered for State Mourning for a day. Hence no State celebration to take place on 3rd June through out the State," the Information & Public Relations Department of the Odisha government tweeted.
CM expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and announced ex-gratia assistance of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
Several coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga station in Odisha's Balasore after hitting a goods train.
According to Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place at around 7 pm on Friday."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," Sharma told
Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena, Development Commissioner-cum-ACS- Anu Garg, Principal Secretary, I&PR Department Sanjay Kumar Singh, MD, OSDMA Gyan Das are present in the Control room of SRC to monitor the rescue operation.
(With agency inputs)
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