Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of those killed in a train derailment in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the ex-gratia amount will be distributed from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the deceased’s next of kin. The PMO also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 to each of the victims of the horrific accident.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for the incident in which several coaches of two passenger trains derailed after colliding with a goods train.
Prime Minister Modi, taking stock of the situation in Balasore, stated that rescue operations were underway at the scene of the accident and that all possible assistance was being provided to the injured.
Following the horrific collision and subsequent derailment of coaches in Odisha’s Balasore district, in which several passengers are believed to be dead and over 132 injured, an additional rescue team from Odisha Fire and Emergency Service, comprising 26 members with advance rescue equipment from Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy in Bhubaneswar, rushed to the scene to mobilise emergency rescue measures, according to an Odisha government release.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed his condolences for the accident.
Multiple coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga station in Odisha’s Balasore after colliding with a goods train.
“There are casualties but the toll is yet to be determined. The derailment involved three trains, two of which were passenger trains and another a goods train,” Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said.
The injured were shifted to Soro CHC, Gopalpur CHC, and Khantapada PHC, the chief secretary informed further.
According to Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place around 7 pm on Friday.
“At around 7 pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah rammed into the derailed coaches, resulting in the derailment of 3-4 of its coaches,” Sharma told ANI.
A team of 22 responders from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived at the accident site from Balasore Railway Station. According to officials, another Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) team of 32 members had left for the location half an hour before.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered state minister Pramila Mallik and the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) to rush to the scene of the accident. The minister and the SRC arrived at the scene almost immediately.
According to the state chief secretary, a large number of buses were dispatched to the accident site in Balasore to assist with relief and rescue operations.
“Nearly 50 ambulances were also rushed to the spot but the number of injured appear to be far too many,” he said.
