CHENNAI: Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin confirmed on Sunday that all passengers hailing from Tamil Nadu are safe in Odisha. Out of eight individuals unreachable as of Sunday morning, two have been successfully traced and confirmed to be safe.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that eight among the 127 passengers with Tamil Nadu addresses and Tamil names were unreachable. However, authorities managed to establish contact with them later in the evening.
Udhayanidhi, Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport, said, “No one from Tamil Nadu was admitted to hospitals and people from the state are unaffected. At the call centre set up by the Odisha authorities, no calls were received seeking information on TN passengers.” He said that Sivasankar and visited every floor of the hospital, mortuary and call centre for rescue initiatives.
Quoting railway police, who were apprised by co-passengers, he said the six others were also safe. “When we spoke directly to the six, we can come to a conclusion that no one from Tamil Nadu is affected,” he said. Speaking about the support of the Tamil Nadu government with the Odisha government, the minister said, “Senior Tamil Nadu government officials are still camping in Odisha for coordination.”
Meanwhile, minister KKSSR Ramachandran announced that Stalin had ordered to provide food, water, medical assistance and transportation to passengers returning to their respective hometowns. He added that another special train from Odisha will reach Chennai with more survivors of the train accident.