Bhubaneswar: No one from Odisha is among the deceased identified so far in the tragic train accident near Kantakapalle in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday night, informed East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials on Monday. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sent Revenue and Disaster Management minister Sudam Marndi to visit to the site to take stock of the rescue and relief operations.
Officials of the ECoR told TNIE that 11 of the 14 deceased in the train accident have been identified so far and two among them are women. All the deceased identified are from Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh.
"Efforts are on to identify the remaining three deceased. However, no one from Odisha is among the deceased identified so far," said a senior ECoR official.
He said the rescue and relief operations have been expedited, while track restoration work is also being carried out on a war footing basis.
East Coast Railway General Manager Manoj Sharma is monitoring the restoration work at the accident site.
Considering the magnitude of the mishap, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the state revenue minister to visit the mishap site and meet the injured at the hospitals.
The additional Special Relief Commissioner will be accompanying the minister during his visit to the accident site, informed the Chief Minister's Office.
On Sunday, the Chief Minister had also asked the Special Relief Commissioner as well as district collectors of Rayagada and Koraput to extend immediate rescue and relief assistance to the victims of the train mishap that took place after the Visakhapatnam-Palasa special passenger waiting for a signal due to a technical snag was hit by the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train near Kantakapalle in Vizianagaram district, resulting in derailing of multiple bogies.
Apartment from 14 deaths, around 40 passengers were injured, three of them critically, in the mishap and were shifted to different hospitals following launch of the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, several trains have been cancelled, rescheduled or diverted in view of the train mishap that has disrupted train service on Howrah-Chennai main line between Alamanda and Kantakapalle stations in Vizianagaram-Kottavalasa railway section of Waltair Division.
At least eight trains including Tirupati-Visakhapatnam and Berhampur-Visakhapatnam Express on October 30 and Koraput-Visakhapatnam Express October 31 have been cancelled following the accident.
ECoR sources said signal overshooting is suspected to be the reason of the mishap and the matter is being investigated. However, the focus at present remains on rescue operation and track restoration work. Around 800 to 900 people have been engaged on this, while eight poclain machines and a 140 tonne crane have been pressed into service for the restoration work, ECoR officials said.