Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw orders high-level probe into Odisha triple train mishap

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ordered a high-level probe into the Odisha triple train accident, in which over 120 people are said to be dead and over 600 injured after three trains collided on Friday evening. Odisha chief secretary Pradeep Jena confirmed that, as per the latest information, 600 people have sustained injuries, and the death toll stands at 120.

"I have given out an order to conduct a high-level probe to find out why this accident happened... it is important to get to the root cause," said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

I have given out an order to conduct a high-level probe to find out why this accident happened…it is important to get to the root cause: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to ANI, on Coromandel Express Derailment in Odisha

(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/VqKJenCbjp

— ANI (@ANI)

Two passenger trains and a goods train collided in an accident in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday, June 2.

PM Modi, Railways Minister announce ex-gratia 

The Railways Minister announced ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased in the triple train accident in Odisha. Union Minister Vaishnaw took to Twitter to announce Rs 10 lakh in compensation to the kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for grievously injured persons, and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of deceased persons in the train mishap in Odisha. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.

How did the accident happen?

Reportedly, the Coromandel Express left Shalimar station at 3.20 pm on the fateful Friday and reached Balasore at 6.30 pm. It got derailed at 7 p.m. near Bahanaga railway station and toppled onto the track beside it at 7 pm. The 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah superfast express that was on the down line collided into the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express's derailed coaches.

In a tragic series of events, some of the coaches from the initial collision were struck by the wagons of a goods train. As per reports, several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah train derailed and fell on nearby rails at Bahanaga Baazar, close to Balasore.