Odisha train tragedy: With 288 dead, state govt sets up temporary mortuary

Following the ghastly train accident in Balasore district on Friday that left 288 dead and over 800 injured, the Odisha government on Saturday set up a temporary mortuary in the business park that houses the North Orissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, an official said.

The 40,000 sq ft expo hall of the NOCCI has been converted into a mortuary where unidentified bodies will be stored, the official said. The place is about 15 km from the accident site at Bahanaga Bazar railway station.

Speaking to IANS over the phone, Balasore's additional district magistrate (ADM) Sucharu Bal said, "The bodies will be preserved in ice beds put up in the big hall. Sufficient beds and ice slabs have been kept there."

So far, 55 bodies had been identified and handed over to the family members after autopsy, he said.

Of the remaining bodies, 27 were shifted to the mortuary from local hospitals after conducting a post mortem, the ADM informed.

Bal said the remaining bodies were kept at the Bhanaga High School, which had been converted into a makeshift mortuary, for identification.

Those that remain unidentified bodies will be shifted now to the temporary mortuary at the NOCCI, he said.

"As most of the deceased are from other states like West Bengal and Bihar, the process of identification has become difficult," Bal said.

Meanwhile, reports were received that one of the buses carrying injured passengers to West Bengal met with an accident there too. It is believed several passengers had sustained minor injuries.

What of the living?

Nearly half of the passengers from the Coromandel Express and the SVTM–Howrah superfast express who sustained minor injuries have been discharged from the hospitals after treatment.

About 418 injured passengers are still undergoing treatment at Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak, Soro and the SCB Medical College in Cuttack.

Most of the injured were admitted to the local hospitals. Only the most seriously injured patients were being referred to SCB Medical College, which is about 173 km from Balasore.

More than 100 medical teams with paramedical staff along with medicines and emergency supplies had been mobilised to the accident site — not just from Odisha but other states too. Some 200 ambulances were engaged to shift the injured to the hospitals, officials said.

For the further movement of the stranded passengers, 30 buses have been engaged.

Many were stranded in nearby stations as well, since several trains were cancelled or rerouted.