Help desk set up at Bengaluru's Yeshwanthpur railway station to assist Balasore train accident victims
Jun 03, 2023
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 3 : A help desk has been set up at Bengaluru's Yeshwanthpur railway station on Saturday to provide assistance to train accident victims in Odisha's Balasore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the accident site today, as well as, the hospital in Cuttack, according to sources.
Earlier, he called a high-level meeting with railway officials to take stock of the situation after at least 238 people were killed in an accident involving three trains in Odisha on Friday night.
The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express, the Coromandel Express and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station, Balasore district. 17 coaches of these two trains have been de-railed and severely damaged.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Ministers Udhayanidhi Stalin, Siva Shankar, and Anbil Mahesh have left for Odisha's Balasore to enquire about the tragic train accident.
While interacting with media at Chennai Airport on Saturday Morning Udhayanidhi Stalin said "We are going there to enquire for details. Tamil Nadu CM has spoken to Odisha CM. I will update you after reaching the spot. Hospital facilities are also ready for Tamilians in Tamil Nadu who got affected by the train accident."
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu MK Stalin also reached at State Emergency Operation Centre in Chennai on Saturday morning and took stock of the situation. Stalin also said he had spoken to Odisha's CM Naveen Patnaik and assured him of all possible assistance from Tamil Nadu Government.
The death toll in the Odisha train accident involving two express trains -- Bengaluru-Howrah Express and Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express -- and a goods train in Balasore has risen to 238, South Eastern Railway said on Saturday.
"As per the information received till now, there are 238 casualties. Around 650 injured passengers have been taken to the Hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro," the South Eastern Railway said.
