Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered for an immediate probe into the train mishap at Kathajodi passenger halt near Cuttack railway station of Odisha which claimed at least two lives and injured more than 27 passengers.
Last evening, the Bhubaneswar-Bhadrak DMU passenger train hit collided with a stranded goods train at Kathajodi station. Expressing grave concern over the tragic incident, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik directed the concerned authorities to expedite the rescue work and provide free treatment to the injured passengers.
The passenger train (number 78408) hit the goods train (BCN-DANKUNI) running on the same track, leading to derailment of two coaches, Chief Public Relations Officer of East Coast Railway (ECoR), JP Mishra said.
“One body has been retrieved from the mangled coaches of the passenger train as rescue operation was taken up on a war footing,” said Cuttack District Collector NC Mishra who visited the accident site.
As many as 17 persons injured in the accident have so far being brought to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and the condition of two is stated to be very critical, said hospital emergency officer BN Maharana.