West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has termed the horrific train accident in Odisha the ‘biggest of the century’. The chief minister met Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the crash could have been averted if trains were equipped with the anti-collision system.

Bengal CM announces ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for victims

The Trinamool Congress chief and former Railway Minister Banerjee further announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victims of the tragedy belonging to West Bengal.

Addressing the media in the presence of the Union Railway minister, Ms Banerjee said, “Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway’s safety commission and they investigate and give a report. There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened. The dead can’t be brought back but now our work is rescue operation and restoration of normalcy.”

The West Bengal Chief Minister reached the Odisha train accident site on Saturday.

Details of the accident

The Odisha train tragedy that jolted the nation on Friday, has claimed more than 280 lives whereas 900 people have been injured.

Two passenger trains along with a goods train were involved in the accident due to train derailment, which resulted in the train collision.

The accident involved two passenger trains- Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.

Seventeen coaches of the passenger trains have been derailed and severely damaged in the accident that took place on Friday evening.

According to the preliminary report by the State Emergency Operation Centre, over 900 people are injured. The death count rose from 238 to over 280 according to the report.

Also Read: Major Negligence: Ex-Railway Minister Lalu Yadav Calls For High-Level Probe Into Odisha Train Accident

Rescue ops is still on

Seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Teams, five Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) Units and 24 Fire Services and Emergency Units engaged in rescue operations.

After the accident, several political leaders have been visiting the tragedy site.

A compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victims of Odisha’s train tragedy has also been announced by the Railways Ministry.

(With Input Feeds)