Odisha train tragedy: Death toll rises to 288; Rs 15.6 cr compensation given to 531 people

The Balasore Collector has confirmed that the death toll in the deadly train accident has risen to 288 after the reconciliation of district hospitals, mortuaries, and reports from collectors of different districts, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said on Tuesday. The accident happened after Chennai-bound Coromandel Express collided with a freight train near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore on May 2.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that 40 passengers of Coromandel Express may have died of electrocution. Around 40 bodies recovered from the Coromandel Express involved in the triple train crash had no visible injury marks and are believed to have died of electrocution, the Government Railway Police (GRP) said as per the news agency PTI.

Also read: ‘How the once most-advanced railway system declined to the current state’: Chinese op-ed on Odisha accident

An FIR registered at the GRP station at Balasore indicated that live overhead wires which snapped when the accident occurred, entangled with a few coaches, electrocuting the passengers trapped in them. Sub-inspector of Police, P Kumar Nayak in his FIR said, "Many passengers succumbed to injuries caused due to the collision and electrocution (after) coming in contact with overhead LT (low tension) line." The overhead wires snapped as coaches which toppled over during the triple train accident overturned electrical masts, said officials.    

Meanwhile, South Eastern Railway CPO Aditya Kumar Chaudhary informed that over 531 people had been compensated amounting to around Rs 15.6 crores. He also appealed to people who wanted to get compensated to contact railway helpdesks in Cuttack, Midnapore, Bhubaneswar, and Balasore.

Out of 288 deaths, over 100 bodies are yet to be identified. With unidentified bodies pilling up in different hospitals, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar has started DNA sampling of the claimants, PTI reported on Tuesday. As many as 10 samples have so far been collected from the claimants, a senior official of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar said. He said the bodies have now been shifted to five containers where they can be preserved for a longer period.

The official said there should be no hurry in disposing of the bodies after DNA sampling as they can be preserved in the container for six months. AIIMS, Bhubaneswar had received 123 bodies of which around 64 have been identified. A claimant from, Jharkhand on Tuesday alleged that they had on Monday identified the body of Upendra Kumar Sharma, but it was handed over to someone else on Tuesday.

"What is the point of doing DNA sampling if the body has been handed over to someone else? We had identified Upendra from the tattoo mark on his body," the relative said. However, Dr Pravas Tripathy, Deputy Superintendent of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, said that the bodies were being handed over after a detailed inquiry. It is a fact that more than one family have been claiming a single body and for that DNA sampling is being done.

(With inputs from PTI)