Coromandel Express Derails in Odisha’s Balasore, 50 Dead, 179 Injured

Coromandel Express Derails : At least 50 dead 179 people were injured when the Coromandel Express traveling from West Bengal’s Shalimar station to Tamil Nadu’s Chennai derails in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday. The derails took place near Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district and several passengers of the express train are feared dead and many more are trapped inside the overturned coaches of the superfast train.

Four coaches of the express train derailed after the goods train collided. The injured passengers were admitted to Balasore Medical College, Community Health Center at Soro, and a primary health center at Gopalpur and Khantapada.

The Office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said teams have been sent to the accident site for search and rescue operations. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed State Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallick and senior officials of the SRC along with the fire services to supervise the operation.

The Odisha government is also arranging generators and lights at the accident site to help with the operation. The first NDRF team of 22 members has reached the site and 32 more are expected to arrive shortly.

Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said that around 50 ambulances have reached the accident site, but the number of injured passengers is beyond the capacity of the vehicles.

Full list of helpline numbers:

Derailment of 12841 Shalimar – Chennai Coromandel Express

Howrah Helpline Number: 033-26382217

Kharagpur Helpline Number: 8972073925 & 9332392339

Balasore Helpline Number: 8249591559 & 7978418322

Shalimar Helpline Number: 9903370746

The accident took place around 7.20 pm near Bahanaga Bazar station when the train was going from Shalimar station near Kolkata to Chennai Central station.