Army, Air Force join relief and rescue ops at Odisha triple train crash site

The Army and the Air Force have been roped in to help with relief and rescue operations in the triple train crash site in Odisha’s Bahana Nagar.

Army columns, including engineering and medical personnel, and Air Force helicopters were deployed for the operations, a defence official said on Saturday (June 3).

The operations are being carried out in coordination with the railway authorities on the ground, he said.

“Army medical and engineering teams with ambulances and support services have been deployed from Eastern Command,” he said.

Also read: Train crash: For rescue workers, a night of blood, sweat and tears

Army columns have been rushed to the accident site from the installations at Barrackpore and Panagarh in West Bengal, the official said. Two Mi17s were deployed for evacuation of the injured passengers, he said.

The accident, one of the deadliest in the country, has claimed 261 lives, railway official said. It took place in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.

Three trains — the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train — were involved in the accident.

(With agency inputs)