Odisha Train Accident: Coromandel Express derails after collision with goods train; 30 dead, several injured

• Image Credit: Google

• Jun 2, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express on Friday derailed near the Bahanaga Station in Balasore, Odisha, injuring several...

Digital Desk: The Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express on Friday derailed near the Bahanaga Station in Balasore, Odisha, injuring several passengers. Reportedly, the high-speed train derailed after colliding with a freight train.

Following the incident, nearby law enforcement and railway personnel came to the spot and are currently engaged in rescue efforts in collaboration with the local population.

"We sent 15 ambulances to the scene and began transporting patients to Soro CHC. "We expect some to be transferred to higher facilities," Addl DMET said. 

According to initial reports stated by a railway official, the Coromandel train was moving along the primary track. Following the accident, it crashed with a stationary goods train on the side track.

Following the disaster, the Special Relief Commissioner Office stated, "An Express Train met with an accident near Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district. Teams have arrived on the spot to conduct a search and rescue operation. Collector Balasore has also been asked to travel to the location to make the necessary arrangements and to notify the SRC if any more assistance from the state level is required."

The Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), along with top officers Hemant Sharma, Balwant Singh, Arvind Agarwal, and the DG of fire services, has been sent to the spot to supervise rescue and relief activities. "All medical colleges and hospitals in the Balasore district have been placed on high alert. The Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital has also been notified. Three NDRF units, four ODRAF units, and 60 ambulances have been mobilized," said Odisha's additional chief secretary and Development Commissioner.

Also Read : Meet ‘Audi Chaiwala’: Mumbai man who sells tea on his super expensive Audi

Earlier in April, a train operator was killed and four other operators were injured when a goods train failed to follow a signal and collided with another halted goods train at Singhpur railway station in Shahdol district, around 100 kilometers from Bhopal.

The train that failed to stop at its signal had left Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh on its route to the Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station in Birsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district. At around 6:30 a.m., it collided with the rear engine of a halted goods train at the station.