"31 passengers from West Bengal still missing": Mamata Banerjee

CUTTACK: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that 31 passengers from her state who were on board the Coromandel Express are still missing after the triple train accident which killed over 270 people.

Banerjee was on a visit to Odisha to meet injured persons currently admitted in different hospitals in Cuttack.

"Odisha and West Bengal governments are working together. They are providing free treatment. A total of 103 bodies belonging to West Bengal have been identified and 97 people are under treatment and 31 are missing," Banerjee told reporters here.

The triple train accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district on June 2. The devastating incident left over 1000 people injured.

Demanding a probe into the horrific accident, she said, "So many people have died, the truth must come out." The Bengal Chief Minister also visited the eye and surgery department of SCB Medical College and Hospital and interacted with the patients.

A day after the incident, Banerjee, on Saturday reached the accident site in Balasore to take stock of rescue operations and questioned why the Centre's, anti-collision system, 'Kavach' was missing from the track of the collision. Notably, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case into the matter.

In the statement, CBI said, "On the request of the Ministry of Railways, consent of the Odisha Government and further orders from DoPT(Govt. of India) relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a Goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in the State of Odisha on June 2, 2023."

"CBI has taken over the investigation of the case earlier registered at Balasore GRPS, District Cuttack (Odisha) vide GRPS Case No.64 dated June 3 regarding the said accident," the statement further said. The tragic train accident killed 278 people and injured nearly 1,100 in what was the worst accident suffered by the public transporter since 1995.