Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 3 : Following the horrific derailment incident in the Balasore district involving two passenger trains and a good carriage, which left 120 passengers dead and at least 600 injured on Friday evening, all BSKY-accredited private hospitals have been instructed to admit accident victims and provide emergency treatment, said an official.
According to officials, Health Secretary Shalini Pandit directed all BSKY empanelled private hospitals to keep beds ready to receive patients from the site of the accident.
They informed further that empanelled hospitals in Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar had been specifically asked to receive and treat accident victims and provide immediate treatment.
Speaking on the incident, Bhadrak District Magistrate Sidheswar Baliram Bondar said all the ambulances and buses have been pressed into service at the accident spot.
"At present, we have received 10 patients and we have deployed our ambulances and buses at the accident spot. In District Headquarters Hospital, 150 beds have been arranged," said the Bhadrak DM.
The officials said that all the emergency treatments were being provided by empanelled hospitals free of cost and 115 ambulances were mobilised for the ongoing relief and rescue operations.
They added that lightweight stretchers were also mobilised from nearby districts to the scene of the accident.
Several coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga station in Odisha's Balasore after hitting a goods train.
The injured were shifted to Soro CHC, Gopalpur CHC, and Khantapada PHC, said Chief Secretary, Odisha.
According to Railway Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, the accident took place at around 7 pm on Friday.
"At around 7 pm, 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Baleswar and fell on the opposite track. After some time, another train from Yeswanthpur to Howrah dashed into those derailed coaches resulting in the derailment of its 3-4 coaches," Sharma told ANI.
NDRF's first team of 22 members from Balasore Railway Station (BLS) reached the site. Another team from Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) of 32 members started half an hour before, said officials.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the state minister Pramila Mallik and Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) to reach the accident site immediately. The minister and SRC left for the accident spot.
While expressing grief over the accident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared emergency helpline numbers for natives of her state who were affected by the tragedy.
Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep said that a large number of buses were rushed to the accident site in Balasore to help in the rescue operations.
"Nearly 50 ambulances were sent to the spot," he said.
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