Odisha train accident: Mamata said, 31 people from Bengal are missing, 103 bodies identified
Bhubaneswar (IANS) | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said 31 passengers from her state, who were traveling in the express trains that collapsed in Odisha’s Balasore on the evening of June 2, are still missing. Mamata reached Odisha on Tuesday afternoon and was received at the Bhubaneswar airport by state minister Tusharkanti Behera. Immediately after landing in Bhubaneswar, she left for Cuttack and met the injured people undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and hospitals.
Speaking to media persons in Cuttack, Mamata said, “There are many people traveling from West Bengal in Express. We are calling everyone, some are receiving and some are not. So far 103 bodies have been identified.” Out of which 83 bodies have been handed over to the next of kin. The process of handing over other bodies is underway, still 31 people are missing.”
In addition, more than 200 people are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Odisha and West Bengal, out of which around 93 people are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Odisha.
When asked about her reaction to the CBI probe, the chief minister said, “I don’t want to say anything. Truth should come out. Truth should prevail, it should not be suppressed.”
On the death toll, he said, “This is not the time for debate. So many people have died. Truth prevails.”
At least 278 people were killed and four injured in a head-on collision between the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, Howrah-bound SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express and a good train near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on the evening of June 2. More than 1,100 were injured.
–IANS
