Odisha train tragedy: Unidentified bodies to be kept in containers

Identifying these bodies is turning out to be a major challenge for the authorities with the government even considering DNA sampling to confirm their whereabouts.

Balasore (Odisha):The bodies of 124 of the 275 victims of the Odisha train tragedy are yet to be identified as the faces of some of them have been badly disfigured in the mishap.

Identifying these bodies is turning out to be a major challenge for the authorities with the government even considering DNA sampling to confirm the whereabouts. An official of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said some bodies are in very bad condition and faces are not being identified properly. "In such cases we have to move forward by conducting DNA tests," he said.

Till Monday morning, 151 bodies from the triple train accident that took place in Odisha's Balasore on Friday were identified. At least 275 people were killed, while more than 1,000 were injured in the accident near Bahanaga Bazar area on the evening of June 2.

Odisha's Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena in a statement issued on Monday morning said that as many as 151 bodies have been identified so far. "All bodies after the due process are handed over for transfer to their destination. All arrangements for free transportation of the bodies by hearses/ dead body carriers till destination have been made by Odisha government," said Jena in the statement.

The Odisha government, Jena said, will cover the expenses of transporting bodies and issuing and delivering death certificates electronically or through speed post to the families after the identification process is completed. "AIIMS Bhubaneswar has received a total of 123 dead bodies, and out of those, 43 bodies have already been handed over to their next of kin following the necessary protocols and identification procedures," he said.

To address the challenge of storage, AIIMS Bhubaneswar's Executive Director, Ashutosh Biswas, said that they have obtained five containers from Paradip Port. These containers will be used to store the dead bodies for an extended period as no hospital in the region has sufficient deep freezers to accommodate such a large number of bodies. Each container can hold approximately 30 to 40 bodies.

The triple train accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks. Earlier on Sunday, Odisha Chief Secy Pradeep Jena clarified that the death toll from the horrific accident had been revised from 288 to 275 after it was determined that some bodies had been counted twice.

Indian Railways has started running passenger trains on the tracks in Bahanaga village in Odisha's Balasore which were affected due to the triple train accident. On Sunday, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw waved at the crew of a goods train and prayed for a safe journey, as services resumed after 51 hours of a train accident in Balasore.

"Services on both tracks have been restored. Normal train services on both lines have now been restored, 51 hours after the accident," said Ashwini Vaishnaw.