Death Toll In 3-Train Crash Rises To 288; PM Modi To Visit Odisha Today; Mamata Too On Way To Balasore

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situation at the site of the horrific triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore last evening.

First, he will visit the site of the accident in Balasore and also the Cuttack hospital where the injured are being treated, ANI reported quoting sources.

PM Modi also convened a meeting to review the situation in relation to the accident.

As per latest estimates by the South Eastern Railway, the toll in the train accident involving two express trains — Bengaluru-Howrah Express and Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express — and a goods train has risen to 288.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has ordered a high-level probe into the derailment. The railway ministry has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh to those severely injured, and Rs 50,000 to those who sustained with minor injuries.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also be leaving for Balasore on board a special helicopter, which will take off from a helipad in Dumurjala, Howrah district. She decided to personally visit the spot to take a review of the situation amid speculation that some of the victims might hail from Bengal since Coromandel Express left for the ill-fated journey on Friday evening from the Shalimar Station in Shibpur area of Howrah.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar, and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi reached Chennai airport to travel to visit Odisha to meet train accident victims.