New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday visited Balasore in Odisha, the site of the horrific train accident which claimed at least 261 lives besides leaving over 900 injured, and took stock of the situation.
Before leaving for Odisha from Delhi, the Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting with regard to the tragic train mishap at the Bahanagar Bazar railway station on Friday evening.
According to government officials, Modi reviewed relief works that are underway at the site of the mishap.
He also interacted with the local authorities, personnel from the disaster relief forces, and railway officials.
The Prime Minister emphasised on a ‘Whole of Government’ approach to mitigate the monumental tragedy. Modi also spoke to the Cabinet Secretary and the Union Health Minister from the site and asked them to ensure that all kinds of help is provided to the injured and their families.
The Prime Minister said that special care must be taken to ensure that the bereaved families don’t face inconvenience and those affected keep getting all the assistance they need.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who reached Balasore earlier in the day, briefed the Prime Minister about the accident and also about the rescue and relief operations.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present at the accident site.
From there, the Prime Minister went to the Balasore Hospital where he spoke to some of the survivors of the train accident, and also interacted with the doctors.
The Prime Minister was earlier scheduled to flag off the first Vande Bharat Express train from Goa on Saturday, but the event was cancelled in the wake of the tragic accident in Odisha.
About 16 hours after the accident, which involved two Express trains — Coromandel and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express — and a goods train, the rescue operation was announced to be complete on Saturday afternoon by the Railways, following which restoration work commenced.
Friday’s accident brought back the horrific memories of another deadly accident in UP’s Firozabad in 1995, in which 358 people died.
In a similar accident on August 2, 1999, the Brahmaputra Mail collided with the Awadh-Assam Express near Gaisal in Assam, which claimed the lives of approximately 290 people.
PM Modi said that directions had been given to probe the train accident and that whoever was found guilty would not be spared.
His remarks came during his visit to Fakir Mohan Hospital, Balasore, where some of the passengers injured in Friday’s accident involving three trains were admitted. “It’s a painful incident. The government will not be able to bring back, who lost their lives [in the accident], but the government is with their kin in this grief. This incident is very serious for the government. The government will leave no stone unturned for the treatment of those injured. Instructions have been given for every type of investigation and whoever is found guilty will not be spared,” PM Modi said.
“I also thank the Government of Odisha and all the officers of the administration here who tried to help the people with limited resources,” he said, adding that Railways was working towards track restoration.
He also thanked the people of Odisha, who came forward to help crash survivors, whether by donating blood or providing assistance in the rescue operation.
The PM visited the hospital after reviewing the situation at the site of the June 2 incident in which at least 261 people were killed and over 1000 injured.
PM Modi flew down to the crash site in an IAF chopper at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district and was briefed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw about the train accident.
At the site of the accident, PM Modi reviewed relief works that are underway. He interacted with local authorities, personnel from the disaster relief forces and railways officials. He emphasised on the ‘Whole of Government’ approach to mitigating the monumental tragedy, according to government sources.
The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Odisha’s Balasore district. According to Odisha Government’s Special Relief Commissioner’s office 17 coaches of the two trains had derailed and severely damaged.
At the site PM Modi spoke to Cabinet Secretary and Health Minister and asked them to ensure all needed help is provided to the injured and their families, government sources said.
PM Modi also said that special care must be taken to ensure that the bereaved families don’t face inconvenience and that those affected keep getting the assistance they require.
Earlier today, PM Modi convened a meeting to review the situation in connection with the rail accident.
Seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, five Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units and 24 Fire Services and Emergency units engaged in rescue operations.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Mi-17 helicopters for the evacuation of the deceased and injured. According to the Eastern Command, IAF is coordinating the rescue efforts with the civil administration and Indian Railways.
Meanwhile the death toll from a three-train reached 261, South Eastern Railways said.
Injured passengers have been taken to hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro in the State.
Railway officials said that the rescue operation had been completed at the derailment site and restoration work is going on.