Balasore (Odisha) [India], June 3 : Former Railway Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday expressed anguish over the Odisha triple train accident that claimed the lives of 238 people and called it a "great tragedy."
"This is a great tragedy. Our heart really goes out to the bereaved families" the Former Railway Minister said.
"I think the priority has to be to save as many lives as possible...This is not the time for politics. Nobody can do politics over dead bodies," he said.
In view of the Odisha train accident, more than 42 trains have been cancelled and more than 32 routes have been diverted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a high-level meeting with railway officials on Saturday to take stock of the situation in Odisha.
He will also visit Odisha today to visit the site of the accident in Balasore and then he will visit the hospital in Cuttack, according to sources.
Around 650 injured passengers have been taken to the Hospitals of Gopalpur, Khantapara, Balasore, Bhadrak and Soro, the South Eastern Railway said.
Several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, on the way to Howrah, derailed and fell on an adjacent track. The 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express coming from the opposite direction on a parallel track rammed into the derailed coaches. Some Coromandel Express coaches derailed and hit the stationary goods train on the third track.
According to Railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place around 7 pm on Friday.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation. He has ordered a detailed high-level inquiry into the incident.
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