Mamata to visit train accident site in Odisha

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit the train accident site in Balasore in neighbouring Odisha on Saturday, a senior official said.

Banerjee had a conversation with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik over the telephone in connection with the accident on Friday night. The Bengal CM monitored the situation almost the entire night from her Kalighat residence and expressed her shock over the tragic incident where three trains derailed one on top of another in a horrific sequence, killing at least 233 people and injuring more than 900 in Odisha’s Balasore district.

Also read: Odisha’s triple train crash: All you need to know in a nutshell

“She is quite worried and will be flying to Balasore on Saturday to take stock of the situation. She has also spoken to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in this regard. She was in touch with the team which she sent to Balasore last night,” the bureaucrat told PTI.

The Bengal CM has assured all sorts of assistance to the Odisha government in dealing with rescue work, and treatment of those injured. A team comprising West Bengal minister Manas Bhuniya, Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen and a few officials have already reached the train accident site late Friday night.

The West Bengal government has opened an emergency control room and activated two numbers 033- 22143526/22535185 from Friday night.

(With agency inputs)