Balasore train tragedy: Process begins for cremation of unclaimed bodies

Bhubaneswar: Four months after the triple train accident that claimed 297 lives in Odisha’s Balasore district, authorities at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have initiated the process for cremation of 28 unidentified bodies on Tuesday.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar has started handing over the bodies to BMC authorities in presence of officials of the CBI, which probed the accident. As on Tuesday evening, nine bodies were handed over to the civic body for cremation, officials said.

The bodies were kept in AIIMS Bhubaneswar since the accident in June.

“We have started the process of handing over bodies to the BMC in the presence of CBI officials for disposal. It is now their duty to cremate,” said AIIMS Bhubaneswar superintendent Dillip Parida.

BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said, “We have started cremating the bodies. We plan to complete the process in the next one or two days.”

Out of 162 bodies that AIIMS Bhubaneswar had received, 81 were handed over to family members of the deceased in the first phase. Later, another 53 bodies were given to family members following DNA tests, but 28 bodies remained unclaimed, the official said.

The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Super Fast Express and a goods train were involved in the accident on June 2 near the Bahanaga Bazar station.