Odisha Coromandel Express accident death toll reaches 278, helplines set up in Visakhapatnam

The railway officials in Visakhapatnam set up helpline centres at the railway station to provide information about the passengers belonging to North Andhra travelling by the ill-fated Coromandel Express which met with a major accident in Odisha State on Friday night. Kin of the passengers can dial the toll-free numbers 0891-2746330 and 0891-2744619 to get any details.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the accident has gone up to 278, while the number of injured crossed 900. According to sources in Odisha, this was the most fatal train accident in the state in the last decade.

In the wake of the accident, several trains on the route were either cancelled or diverted. The cancelled trains included Falaknuma, East Coast Express, Humsafar, Howrah-SMVT, Howrah-Chennai Central, Howrah-Secunderabad, Howrah-Tirupati and Shalimar-Hyderabad.

Rescue operation at the accident site continues as teams found it difficult to carry out the work last night due to poor visibility. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the Coromandel Express accident site on Saturday. Later, they will visit the hospitals where the injured passengers are undergoing treatment.

The railways announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh each for the injured and Rs 50,000 for those who escaped with minor injuries. Similarly, an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for the injured was announced by the Prime Minister from his PMNRF. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has ordered a high-level inquiry to probe into the cause of the train accident in Odisha.

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