Odisha: Rescue operation underway in 2 badly damaged coaches

A major rescue operation was underway on Saturday after multiple trains derailed in Odisha.

"By 10 pm (on Friday) we were able to rescue the survivors. After that it was about picking up dead bodies," Sudhanshu Sarangi, director of Odisha's fire department, told The Associated Press.

"This is very, very tragic. I have never seen anything like this in my career," he said.

Sarangi said that rescuers were still cutting through the wrecked rail cars to find people who may still be alive and trapped.

Rescue efforts in full swing

An extensive search-and-rescue operation has been underway since, involving hundreds of first-responders from the fire department and the police force who are using sniffer dogs. National Disaster Response Force teams were also at the site.

The state's Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said on Saturday "Rescue operation is going on in two coaches, of which one is a general coach. The coaches have overturned and suffered massive damages, leading to difficulties in conducting the operation."

After a technical team of the Railways suggested that it was not possible to remove the coaches through cranes, the bogeys were cut down to remove the trapped passengers, he said, adding, that it will take another two to three hours to complete the rescue operation.

The number of injured passengers stands at around 900 as there were no new hospitalisations, Jena said.

The injured persons are in hospitals at Soro, Balasore, Bhadrak and Cuttack.

On casualties, the Chief Secretary said: "As per information received from the Balasore District Collector, the death toll remains at 238. The final figure will be clear in the next couple of hours. The entire team is working in autopsy and identification of dead bodies."

Following autopsy, identification and establishment of relation, bodies will be handed over to the family members of the deceased, he said.

"The unidentified bodies will be preserved for 72 hours. If no one claims the bodies, we will take action as per medical procedures," Jena added.

Seven NDRF teams, 5 ODRAF units and 24 Fire Services & Emergency Units are engaged in the rescue operations.

More than 200 ambulances engaged in shifting to hospitals and over 100 medical teams with paramedical staff along with medicines are at the accident site, officials said.

Food and drinking water have been arranged for stranded passengers at various stations and 30 buses deployed for their movement.

Revenue Minister Pramila Mallik, Health Minister Niranjan Pujari, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and other senior officials are at the accident spot.

India no stranger to rail accidents

Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, accidents occur every year on India's railways, the largest train network under one management in the world.

In 2018, a commuter train drove through a crowd gathered on the tracks for a festival in northern India's Amritsar city, killing at least 59 people and injuring dozens of others.

In 2017, over 40 people were killed after several coaches of a passenger train went off the rails in southern Andhra Pradesh state.

Most train accidents in the country are blamed on human error or outdated signalling equipment.

More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, travelling on 64,000 kilometres (40,000 miles) of track.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will on Saturday visit the site of the train derailment.

She will be leaving for Balasore on board a special helicopter which will take off from a helipad in Dumurjala, Howrah district.

Since the Coromandel Express had left for the ill-fated journey on Friday evening from the Shalimar Station in the Shibpur area of Howrah, there was speculation that some of the victims might hail from Bengal, state government sources said.

Hence the Chief Minister has decided to personally visit the spot to take a review of the situation, they added.

On the instructions of Banerjee, a 12-member medical team accompanied by 25 ambulances and two hearse carriers have already reached the accident spot to provide assistance in the ongoing relief and rescue operations.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Ppposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari is also arranging to send some ambulances to the accident site.

The state BJP president and the party Lok Sabha member Sukanta Majumdar has already reached the accident spot.

Earlier a six-member representation team from West Bengal led by state minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia and party MP Dola Sen had arrived at the accident spot late Friday night.

According to Sen, the state governments of both West Bengal and Odisha are jointly conducting the rescue operations.

"The team from West Bengal have already started to work on how to assist in relief and rescue operations," she said.

All the passengers from the state on board the trains that met with an accident near Balasore of Odisha are safe, Karnataka Railways DIG Shashi Kumar said on Saturday.

While speaking to the media, Shashi Kumar explained that the train which left from Karnataka has also suffered damage. Among the 23 coaches, three have been affected.

As of now, there is no information on the presence of any passenger from the state in these coaches. The railway officials are in touch with the authorities in Odisha since the accident, the DIG said.

Helplines have been set up at four locations and there are no reports of any passenger from the state suffering injuries or being dead, he reiterated.

The coaches in which people from Karnataka travelled have not been damaged in the incident. A team of officers of the rank of DySP and others would be sent to the spot, DIG Shashi Kumar explained.

"We have started four help desks and received no calls so far. False information should not be given and till now no news of deaths of passengers from Karnataka has been received," he stated.

Sources explained that 110 passengers travelled in the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal (Bengaluru)- Howrah Express train which met with an accident on Friday. Fortunately, all of them escaped unhurt in the tragedy.

The passengers hailed from Kalasa town of Chikkamagaluru district and travelled from Bengaluru in S5, S6 and S7 coaches.

After the engine was changed, all of them were shifted to the first coach after the engine. The last four coaches suffered severe damages after being hit by another train, sources explained.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday deputed a team led by Minister for Labor Santosh Lad to ensure the safety of Kannadigas in Odisha train accident.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought reports from the Chief Secretary to the Government and discussed with the officers concerned and directed them to visit the spot to ensure the safety of Kannadigas and provide all necessary support to them.

A team headed by Minister Lad, accompanied by Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Disaster Management and other officers, spokesperson T. Anil Kumar has left for Balasore in the morning.