Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said this afternoon that 62 people from Bengal died in the tragic train accident in Odisha, as per the latest count. With at least 182 of the 275 people who died in the mishap not yet identified, the number of casualties from Bengal could increase.
According to Miss Banerjee, 206 people injured in the accident have been admitted to hospitals in Bengal. Seventy three people have been admitted to different hospitals in Odisha while another 56 persons have been discharged from hospitals in the neighbouring state. Miss Banerjee said Rs 5 lakh would be given as financial assistance to the next of kin of the dead from Bengal. Rs 1 lakh will be given to those who are injured and Rs 10,000 will be given to those who suffer from trauma for three months.
The state government will give ration to these affected families for three months, she said. Miss Banerjee said senior IAS officers have been monitoring the situation. Roundthe-clock control rooms have been opened in Kharagpur, Santragachi and Nabanna. She said teams of doctors with ambulance have been sent to the spot.
About the unidentified dead bodies, Miss Banerjee said it will take some time to identify them. She said the Kolkata Police are in touch with 13,000 families to obtain information about their near and dear ones who may have been on the trains involved in the mishap. Miss Banerjee who visited the site of the incident on Saturday, said a thorough investigation needs to be done.
She said the state government is keeping tabs on the situation round the clock and those admitted to different state-run hospitals are being closely monitored.