UNION RAILWAY MINISTER ASHWINI VAISHNAW INSTRUCTED TOP LEVEL INQUIRY FOR ORISSA TRIPLE TRAIN TRAGEDY

Railway minister Aswini Vaishnaw commanded a high level investigation for the reasons behind Orissa triple train tragedy that occured on Friday. As per the latest information Chief Secretary of Orissa Navin Jena confirmed that 600 people have been wounded and death toll stands at 120.

    Ashwini Vaishnaw said "I have given out an order to conduct a high-level probe to find out why this accident happened... it is important to get to the root cause."

    The cause of the train accident in Odisha will be known after the Commissioner of Railway Safety submits his report, he said.

“It's a big tragic accident. Railway, NDRF, SDRF, and State govt are conducting the rescue operation. Best possible healthcare facilities will be provided. Compensation was announced yesterday,” said the railway minister.

      Wielding gas torches and electric cutters, rescuers worked through the night to pull out survivors and the dead from the mangled steel of three trains that derailed one on top of another in a horrific sequence in Balasore district, officials and witnesses said Saturday.

     The railways announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, ₹2 lakh for those grievously injured and ₹50,000 for those who got minor injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too expressed his condolences and announced an additional ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured from the PM's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

    It is one of the most deadliest train accidents in last 20 years.Rescue workers continued to search for survivors trapped in the mangled wreckage.