Odisha Train Accident: Dharmendra Pradhan Cancels Kolkata Visit

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has cut short his visit to Kolkata in West Bengal and left for Balasore in Odisha following a horrific triple train crash there, which killed at least 288 people and injured 900 others. He is expected to reach the spot in a few hours.

''Landed in Kolkata to the unfortunate news of the train mishap in Balasore. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones. Wish for the earliest recovery and well-being of all, particularly those who are critically injured. Urge all those affected to stay strong. Leaving for Balasore,'' he tweeted.

Pradhan who belongs to Odisha is a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train.

The train crash, the fourth deadliest in India according to available records, happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.

Several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on the way to Howrah, derailed and fell on adjacent tracks, an official said.

''These derailed coaches collided with the 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and its coaches capsized too,'' he said.

A goods train was also involved in the accident as some of the coaches of the Coromandel Express, which was heading to Chennai, hit its wagons after getting derailed, he added. Gas cutters were used to extricate the bodies from under the derailed coaches. Disaster management personnel and firemen were busy at work trying to extricate bodies as dawn broke on this tiny way station on the east coast railway line.