Odisha train tragedy: Government sets up temporary morgue as death toll rises

Following Friday’s horrific train accident in Balasore, in which 288 people were killed and over 800 injured, the Odisha government on Saturday set up a temporary shelter at the North Orissa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) business park on the outskirts of the city. Made a morgue. said an official. The official said the 40,000 sq ft expo hall of NOCCI has been converted into a morgue, where unidentified bodies will be kept. This place is about 15 km from the accident site near Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district. Speaking to IANS over phone, Balasore Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Sucharu Bal said, “We have set up a mortuary at NOCCI. The bodies will be preserved in beds covered with ice in the large hall. There are beds. Placed there to keep unidentified dead bodies.”

He said that so far 55 bodies have been identified and handed over to the relatives after post-mortem. The ADM said that out of the remaining bodies, 27 have been sent to the mortuary from local hospitals after post-mortem. The force said the remaining bodies have been kept at the Bhanga High School, which has been converted into a temporary mortuary, for identification. He said the unidentified bodies would be shifted to the temporary mortuary of NOCCI from Bahanga High School. “Since most of the deceased are from other states like West Bengal and Bihar, the process of identification has become difficult,” the force said.

Nearly half of the passengers with minor injuries have been discharged from hospitals after treatment. Around 418 injured passengers are undergoing treatment at SCB Medical Colleges at Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak, Soro and Cuttack. Most of the injured have been admitted to local hospitals. Only serious patients are being referred to SCB Medical College, which is about 173 km from Balasore. Over 100 medical teams with paramedical staff and medicines have been sent to the accident site, while 200 ambulances are engaged in taking the injured to hospitals, officials said. Besides this, 30 buses have been deployed for movement of stranded passengers.