“Alive Because…: Odisha Rail Tragedy Survivor Recounts Struggle

Balasore/New Delhi:

At least 288 people have died in the horrific train mishap that occurred in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday. The accident involving three trains – Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train – is one of the worst railway tragedies in the country.

Visuals from the accident site showed coaches on top of each other and twisted steel, with passengers’ belongings strewn all over. Lines of bodies were collected by rescue workers and more were being extricated from the wreckage.

More than 800 people were injured in the accident, officials said, adding that most of them have been admitted to various hospitals in Balasore.

Deepak Das from Assam, who is being treated at the district hospital, recounted the turn of events and narrated how the train he was travelling in collided with the goods train.

“My train collided with the goods train and the coaches flipped over. I survived because I was at the window seat. I held on to the window,” he told NDTV.

Another man from Bihar told NDTV that he heard a huge jolt due after the sudden collision of the train, but failed to recall much.

“My family has been informed. They are coming to take me home. I don’t exactly remember what happened. I heard a loud noise when my train collided with the other train,” he said.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the root cause of the accident has been identified. “The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track,”Mr Vaishnaw said.

The Railways Ministry has ordered a high-level probe into how the accident happened. The ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those who have died, and Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured. PM Modi has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).