Home ›› World ›› South Asia

ODISHA RAIL ACCIDENT

Details of 2 injured Bangladeshis not yet available

BSS . New Delhi
03 Jun 2023 20:33:17 | Update: 04 Jun 2023 09:33:05
Details of 2 injured Bangladeshis not yet available
Rescue workers search for surviors amid the wreckage of carriages at the accident site of a three-train collision near Balasore, about 200 km (125 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha, on June 3, 2023 — AFP Photo

The condition of two Bangladeshi nationals, who were reportedly injured in the Odisha train crash on Friday, could not be known so far as the authorities had been struggling to conduct rescue operations.

At least 288 people have died and hundreds more injured in India's worst-ever rail accident in Balasore of the eastern state of Odisha around 7:20pm on Friday.

Local journalists covering the incident said that they have heard that two Bangladeshi nationals were rescued from the accident site with multiple injuries and then sent to the hospital, but they could not gather details on their conditions.

One local correspondent said that they have heard that the condition of the two Bangladeshi nationals was serious as the chances of their survival are very low. But they could not give details.

Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi and Deputy Mission in Kolkata are closely monitoring the situation and making hectic efforts to know the details of the injured Bangladeshis.

Bangladesh Deputy high commission official in Kolkata on Saturday confirmed that both the Bangladeshis were going to Chennai boarding on ‘Coromandel Express’ train from Shalimar station near Kolkata.

However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the train accident site in Odisha's Balasore later on Saturday and meet with the injured at hospitals in Cuttack, his office tweeted.

He also called a high-level meeting with railway officials to discuss rescue, treatment and other matters over the accident involving multiple trains.

The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a freight train. The rescue operations are on and all hospitals in the nearby districts have been put on alert.

Reports said that three NDRF units, 4 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force units, over 15 fire rescue teams, 30 doctors, 200 police personnel and 60 ambulances have been mobilised to the accident site.

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday reached the accident site in Odisha's Balasore to take stock of the situation and assured to conduct a detailed high-level inquiry into the mishap.

"A detailed high-level inquiry will be conducted and the rail safety commissioner will also do an independent inquiry," Vaishnaw said, adding that the government's focus is on rescue and relief operations.

×