Terming the horrific train accident in Odisha the 'biggest of the century', West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who met Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that the crash could have been averted if trains were equipped with the anti-collision system.
The Trinamool Congress chief and former Railway Mnister Banerjee further announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victims of the tragedy belonging to West Bengal.
"Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway's safety commission and they investigate and give a report. There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened. The dead can't be brought back but now our work is rescue operation and restoration of normalcy," Mamata Banerjee said while addressing the reporters in the presence of the Union Railway minister.
The West Bengal Chief Minister reached the Odisha train accident site on Saturday.
The Balasore train tragedy that jolted the nation on Friday, has claimed more than 261 lives whereas 900 people have been injured.
Two passenger trains along with a goods train were involved in the accident due to train derailment, which resulted in the train collision.
The accident involved two passenger trains- Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.
Seventeen coaches of the passenger trains have been derailed and severely damaged in the accident that took place on Friday evening.
According to the preliminary report by the State Emergency Operation Centre, over 900 people are injured. The death count rose from 238 to 261 according to the report.
Seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Teams, five Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) Units and 24 Fire Services and Emergency Units engaged in rescue operations.
Several political leaders have been visiting the tragedy site.
A compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victims of Odisha's train tragedy has also been announced by the Railways Ministry.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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