All 9 teams working in Odisha’s Balasore accident site have been withdrawn: NDRF IG

Balasore (Odisha) [India], June 5 (ANI): The Inspector General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Narendra Singh Bundela on Monday announced the withdrawal of all nine teams of NDRF deployed for rescue operation in Odisha’s Balasore after the triple-train accident.

“Train movement on main lines has been restored, and things are back to normalcy after the full operation. All 9 teams of NDRF who were working in Odisha’s Balasore have been withdrawn,” Narendra Singh Bundela told ANI.

He said that they went through a lot of challenges as the crash involved three trains with multiple coaches.

“The way trains crashed, coaches were derailed and overturned. We had to enter inside affected coaches, rescue passengers stuck inside, and provide medical assistance to those injured,” the IG further explained.

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday waved at the crew of a goods train and prayed for a safe journey, as services on the tracks that were affected resumed in the accident resumed after 51 hours of massive rescue and restoration exercise.

On Sunday, Vaishnaw said the accident occurred due to a “change in electronic interlocking”.

The probe of the tragic Odisha train accident that claimed the lives of 275 people and left over 1000 injured, was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The incident occurred near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar on June 2. It involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Express and Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express — and a goods train.