CM Naveen Patnaik visits train accident spot at Odisha's Balasore district

During his visit to the train accident spot in Odisha's Balasore district, CM Naveen Patnaik said that saving lives will remain the immediate priority among the rescue operations. He enquired about the progress of rescue operations with the top officials and revenue authorities from the district.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday visited the accident site near Bahanaga Bazaar railway station in the Balasore district of Odisha. He took stock of the situation and interacted with the rescue teams from the state and the centre. The CM enquired about the progress of rescue operations with the top officials and revenue authorities from the district.

During his visit, the Chief Minister said that rescuing the lives of the injured victims and those trapped in the bogies would remain the immediate priority in the operations. Several Ministers, MLAs and MPs accompanied the CM during his visit to the spot. The bereaved families and eyewitnesses narrated their problems to the officials and the dignitaries.

Earlier, Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw arrived at the spot and oversaw the rescue operations in the morning. He said a high-level inquiry into the train accident will be conducted. Triple collisions caused a huge loss of life at the spot. Three trains, the Shalimar - Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Horwah Superfast Express and a goods train, were involved in this horrific crash in which over 18 bogies of both the express trains were affected.

Meanwhile, the local MLAs and MPs concerned are at the mishap site to ensure help to the needy victims. Odisha Disaster Management Minister Pramila Malik said that rescue operations were underway and the victims were rushed to the hospitals.

Meanwhile, following an announcement by CM Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha State is observing one-day state mourning in view of the horrific train crash, considered one of the deadliest in India in recent times. The incident was horrendous as a goods train rammed into the already derailed and mangled bogies of the Coromandel Express and the Bengaluru-Howrah Super Fast Express trains. Immediate blood collection was taken up to save the lives of accident victims, officials said.