Odisha train tragedy toll continues to rise

With the death of another injured person who was being treated in Cuttack, the official toll in the Odisha triple-train tragedy reaches 290.

Prakash Ram, a resident of Bihar, was being treated at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, and died this morning in the surgery ward, the hospital authorities said.

The local police will be in charge of his body for a post mortem, after which it will be handed over to family members.

Of the 200-odd critically injured victims who were admitted to SCB, many are already discharged. However, the condition of a handful continues to be extremely critical. Ram was one of these.

Meanwhile, there are still 81 unidentified bodies lying preserved at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, for which DNA test reports are awaited to ascertain the identities and release the bodies to family members. Samples have been taken from 78 families for testing.

The accident, one of the country's worst railway incidents in terms of death toll alone, involved the derailment and pile-up of Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, Howrah-bound SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha's Balasore district on June 2 evening.