Probe Ordered; Those Guilty Will Not Be Spared: PM After Meeting Odisha Train Accident Survivors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the crash site of the train accident in Odisha's Balasore. He also paid a visit to the hospital where the victims of the accident are undergoing treatment.

He took stock of one of the most horrific train accidents in recent memory. PM Modi landed in an Air Force chopper near the site of the incident at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.

At the site of the accident, PM Modi reviewed relief works that are underway, and interacted with local authorities, personnel from the disaster relief forces and railways officials. He then visited the injured at the Balasore District Hospital.

After meeting the victims, the Prime Minister said that those found guilty will be punished. "It's a painful incident. The government will not be able to bring them back, who lost their lives [in the accident], but the government is with their kin in this grief. This incident is very serious for the government. The government will leave no stone unturned for the treatment of those injured. Instructions have been given for every type of investigation and whoever is found guilty will not be spared," PM Modi said.

He also thanked the Odisha government and the officers who tried to help the people with limited resources. The Prime Minister thanked the people of Odisha, who came forward to help crash survivors, whether by donating blood or providing assistance in the rescue operation.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to review the situation in relation to the Odisha train accident. Home Minister Amit Shah and senior government officials attended the meeting as Modi took stock of the situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the train accident site in Odisha's Balasore and said those responsible "will be severely punished". The government is standing with those who lost their family members in the tragedy, he said. At least 261 people were killed and 900 injured in the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.

At least 288 people were killed and more than 1000 have been injured in the train crash involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train in Odisha's Balasore on Friday. It is one of the deadliest train crashes in the history of the Indian Railways.

Meanwhile, the restoration work is underway at the site as wreckage and mangled coaches of derailed trains are being moved away from the track.