In an unfortunate incident, three trains of the Indian Railways derailed in the Balasore district of Odisha, leaving several dead and hundreds injured. As per an official statement, Train no. 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandal Express and Train no. 12864 SMVB – HWH Superfast Express got derailed near the Bahanaga Bazaar Railway station at around 18.55 Hrs. While initial reports suggested that the Coromandal train collided head-on with a goods train causing the derailment of four coaches of the superfast passenger train, Railway officials denied it. Following the same, the launch of Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express was postponed.
Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express Flag Off Cancelled
Following the accident, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has cancelled his travel to Goa, where he was visiting to flag off Goa’s first Vande Bharat Express. The Ministry of Railways has announced that the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express flag off has now been postponed. The train was supposed to be flagged off by PM Modi virtually on June 3, 2023, and was the first Vande Bharat Express for the Konkan Railways.
The ceremony to flag off the inaugural Goa-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Madgaon station has been cancelled, Konkan railway officials said. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was to remain present at Madgaon station for the ceremony. But Vaishnaw was now heading for the accident site in Odisha and the ceremony was cancelled, officials said.
PM Modi Expresses Grief
PM Modi took to Twitter to inform that he has taken stock of the situation, “Distressed by the train accident in Odisha. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw and took stock of the situation. Rescue ops are underway at the site of the mishap and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
Helpline Numbers Issued
The Odisha government has issued helpline number 06782-262286. The railway helplines are 033-26382217 (Howrah), 8972073925 (Kharagpur), 8249591559 (Balasore) and 044- 25330952 (Chennai). The West Bengal government has also opened an emergency control room with numbers 033- 22143526/ 22535185.