Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena on Sunday put the death toll in the three-train accident near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore involving Bengaluru-Howrah express, the Coromandel Express, and a goods train at 275.
“Yesterday, the Railways announced that 288 people were killed in the accident and we also confirmed this. However, the Balasore District Collector and his team have confirmed that the number of people who died is 275 and not 288. The error is due to double counting of some bodies,” Jena told the media.
According to Jena, 78 bodies have been identified and handed over to their kin so far. This morning, another 10 bodies have been identified and the process of handing them over to their relatives is underway. “We will update the latest count from time to time,” the Chief Secretary added.
He said that altogether 1,175 passengers were injured in the accident and 793 of them have been discharged after treatment. Another 382 passengers are still under treatment.
In response to a question, Jena said, “We have taken photographs of all the dead bodies and posted them on three official websites – https://srcodisha.nic.in/, https://www.bmc.gov.in, and https://www.osdma.org to facilitate identification of the bodies. These photographs are only for identification purposes and no individual or organisation can use them for any other purpose,” Jena added.
This aside, the Odisha government has set up a 24X7 toll-free number 1800-34500-61 to help the relatives and friends of the passengers of the ill-fated trains to seek information regarding their kin travelling on any of the trains. People in Odisha can also avail information by calling another toll-free number; 1929.
The state government has stored the unidentified bodies for 72 hours in the morgues of different hospitals in Bhubaneswar. “We appeal to people to come and identify the bodies if they suspect that their relatives were travelling by these trains. After 72 hours, which ends on Monday, the authorities will decide on ways to dispose of them following the standard procedures,” he said.
“The state government has set up a help desk at Bhubaneswar railway station and it will provide all help to people coming from outside. The government will also bear the expenses of transporting the bodies to the destinations.”
Meanwhile, the state forensic lab is undertaking DNA tests of the bodies have are yet to be identified, Jena said.
