Balasore train accident: 261 dead, 900+ injured as rescue ops conclude
After three trains — the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, M Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train — derailed and crashed into one another in Balasore, Odisha, the South Eastern Railway confirmed that rescue operations have been completed on site and 261 casualties have been reported so far. The official number of those injured is nearing 1,000.
According to sources in the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given details of the accident by senior railway ministry officials this morning.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced at 12:48 pm that PM Modi is leaving for Odisha. Union railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was earlier headed for Goa, went straight to the site to inspect relief work.
