- Tuesday, April 23, 2024
While many were either killed or left incapacitated in crash impact, many bodies were charred beyond recognition as the high-tension overhead electrical wire used by the locomotives got snapped during the accident and fell on them.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Over 100 bodies of those killed in the horrific triple-train crash in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday (2) were yet to be identified as families and friends of those missing were running from pillar to post to identify their near ones.
More than 270 people were killed while over 1,100 injured in the train accident, one of the deadliest in the history of Indian Railways.
NDTV, which visited the mortuary of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, where anguished family members were struggling to identify bodies from running pictures of disfigured bodies on the screen. They kept on watching as the pictures kept repeated but were left frustrated as they could not identify the bodies.
While many were either killed or left incapacitated in the massive impact of the crash, many bodies were charred beyond recognition when they came into contact with the high-tension overhead electrical wire used by the locomotives that got snapped during the accident and fell on the ground.
According to one NDTV report, six people from a family in Madhubani district of the eastern state of Bihar were on board one of the two passenger trains that were involved in the accident. One of their relatives, Mohammad Tahir, told the channel that he could trace only one body while the five others were still missing. The pictures were of little help.
Kin of those still missing have been staying at the AIIMS campus hoping to get more information about their loved ones.
On Monday, officials said 101 bodies were yet to be identified.
Talking to news agency Asian News International, divisional railway manager of the Eastern Central Railways Rinkesh Roy said around 200 people are still being treated in various hospitals across Odisha.
“About 1,100 people were injured in the accident, out of which about 900 people were discharged after treatment. Around 200 people are being treated in various hospitals in the state. Out of 278 people who died in the accident, 101 bodies are yet to be identified,” he told ANI.
Vijay Amrit Kulange, commissioner, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation told ANI, “Of the total 193 bodies kept in Bhubaneswar, 80 bodies have been identified. 55 bodies have been handed over to the relatives. More than 200 calls have been received on BMC’s helpline number 1929. The dead bodies are being identified and handed over to the relatives.”
The crash, which saw one passenger train ramming into derailed coaches of another that had hit a stationary goods train on the loop line, will be investigated by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation.
