Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said a high-level committee would investigate the tragic Odisha train accident, adding that the cause of the crash would be known after the probe. The crash has been called one of the deadliest train accidents in the country's history.
Vaishnaw also stated that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Odisha Disaster Action Force (ODRF) and local authorities promptly arrived at the location to provide medical assistance to the injured.
“We have announced an ex gratia INR 1 million ($12,134) for the family members of the deceased, INR 200,000 ($2,426) for the seriously injured people and INR 50,000 ($606) for passengers sustaining minor injuries,” the Railways Minister said.
Meanwhile, several media reports quoting government sources have said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting to review the situation and visited the hospital in Cuttack to meet the injured.
As per the latest media reports, the death toll in the crash reached 280, while more than 900 people were injured.
According to Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the rescue operation has been completed and now the authorities are starting restoration work.
He further informed the media that Kavach was not available on this route. Kavach is an automatic train protection system developed by Indian Railways. The system was designed to prevent train accidents by assisting train drivers in following the signals, avoiding speeding and dealing with severe weather conditions.
Odisha's State Chief Naveen Patnaik has declared one day of mourning as state residents come to grips with the tragedy.
“Important Announcement: In view of tragic rail accident at Bahanaga, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Sri Naveen Patnaik has ordered for State Mourning for a day. Hence no State celebration to take place on 3rd June throughout the State,” the Information & Public Relations Department of the Odisha government tweeted.
Several media reports have also said that people had queued up to donate blood for the injured in Balasore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal ministers, politicians, athletes, film stars as well as the prime ministers and presidents of other countries have extended their condolences.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena party (Uddhav Thackeray faction) has demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, blaming the tragedy on "sheer negligence" and insisting Vaishnav should resign on moral grounds.