Odisha train tragedy: Death toll mounts to 291; 46 in hospital; 81 bodies unidentified

After a passenger from Bihar succumbed to his injuries at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack on Saturday (June 17), the death toll in the Balasore train accident mounted to 291, officials said.

The passenger was identified as Sahil Mansur, 32, of Roshanpur in Bhagalpur district of Bihar. He was undergoing treatment at the ICU of trauma care, hospital sources said. The patient was also suffering from a kidney ailment and was under dialysis, they said.

Dr Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra, the superintendent of SCB Medical College Hospital, said the patient died due to cardiac arrest. He had multiple injuries, both internal and external, and also had renal issues. Mishra said of the 205 patients admitted to the SCB Medical College Hospital, 46 patients are still under treatment, including 13 patients in the ICU.

“Of the 13 patients in the ICU, the condition of two to three people remains critical,” he said. However, the condition of the remaining patients was stable.

Prakash Ram, 22, a migrant labourer hailing from Pathra village in Bihar’s Gopalganj district died on Friday (June 16) at the SCB Medical College Hospital. On Tuesday, a passenger named Bijay Paswan, also from Bihar, succumbed to his injuries at the SCB Medical College and Hospital.

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As many as 287 people died on the spot in the train crash on June 2, while 1,208 persons were injured. The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train were involved in the pile-up at Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district on June 2 in what was described as one of India’s worst train accidents in decades.

The Coromandel Express rammed into a stationary goods train and many of its carriages overturned including some onto another train, the Bengaluru–Howrah Superfast Express, which was also passing by at the same time.

As many as 81 bodies still remain unidentified at the AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Though more than 70 people have already given blood samples for their DNA test, the reports are still awaited for verification, an official said.

The AIIMS Bhubaneswar authorities on Saturday (June 17) wrote a letter to the Delhi-based Central Forensic Laboratory to send the DNA test reports of at least 15 persons, as their family members were eagerly waiting outside the hospital to take their bodies for last rites.

(With agency inputs)