A member of the Railway Board addresses the rumors about the Odisha train tragedy during a press conference. Rejecting the rumours, Railway Board’s Member Operations and Business Development Jaya Verma Sinha also disclosed the statements of the train driver. Addressing the rumour, he said that the train driver did not give any signal and the train was not running at high speed when it met with the accident.
In his statement, the officer said, “Security is the topmost priority for the Railways. We are ensuring that evidence is not tampered with and no witness is influenced.” ‘ It proceeded only after receiving the signal. Neither did it jump any signal nor was the train overspeed.”
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Additionally, he had stated during the press conference that although the goods train did not derail, the Coromandel Express suffered the most as it was transporting iron ore.
Addressing the death toll, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said that the number of dead is 275 and 278. He clarified that some bodies were counted twice, resulting in a discrepancy.
ANI quoted Jena as saying, “The death toll is 275 and not 288. The data was checked by the DM, and it was found that some bodies were counted twice, so the death toll was revised to 275.” 88 out of 275 bodies have been identified.” “Out of 1,175 injured, 793 have been discharged after treatment. This figure will be updated around 2 pm,” he added.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the restoration effort is well underway, and officials are closely monitoring how the accident site is being cleaned up. More than a thousand persons are working on the project. The ministry informed that more than seven Poklane machines, two accident relief trains and three to four railway and road cranes are in use.