Odisha train tragedy: One person from Andhra died in accident, says minister

Barring one person, all the Andhra Pradesh passengers involved in the Odisha train crash tragedy, which occured on Friday (June 2), are safe, confirmed a senior minister.

As per the railway authorities, the death toll in the Odisha three-train collision is 275 people. Out of the total number of persons dead in the train tragedy, only one is from Andhra Pradesh (AP), and the dead person has been identified as Gurumurthy, said AP senior minister, Botsa Satyanarayana.

Talking to reporters, the minister said that Gurumurthy was travelling in the ill-fated Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, when it derailed at Bahanaga Bazar station. Further, he also revealed that Gurumurthy, a resident of Santabommali Village in Srikakulam district, was a retired employee and travelling to Balasore to collect his pension.

Addressing the media in Visakhapatnam, the minister said that a total of 690 people from AP were travelling in the two passenger trains involved in the tragic accident. Out of the 690, 480 were in the Coromandel Shalimar Express, while 211 were travelling in the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express.

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The AP government has dispatched state IT minister Gudiwada Amarnath and six senior officials to Balasore to collect information about the Andhra passengers and to provide any assistance in case of an emergency.

“Except one from Santhabommali, all Andhra Pradesh passengers who were travelling in the trains involved in the accident, are safe. So far, the officials were able to contact 553 passengers, who are all safe. Only 22 passengers received minor injuries, out of which, only five are being treated as in-patients in Vizag,” he said.

“92 passengers had cancelled their tickets and 28 are yet to be contacted. Both police and railway authorities are trying to locate these people,” Botsa said.

Meanwhile, Andhra IT minister G Amarnath, who is camping in Balasore, also confirmed that all the passengers, who had boarded the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express at various stations in Andhra Pradesh starting from Tirupati, have been located and are safe except for one passenger Gurumurthy.

Also read: Odisha train crash cause identified, normal services to be restored by Wednesday: Rail minister

“The officials are yet to trace 11 passengers, who were travelling in the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express,” added the minister.

Condoling Gurumurthy’s death, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy announced an ex-gratia of ₹10,000 to Gurumurthy’s kin. Botsa said an ex-gratia amount of ₹5 lakh had been announced to those who had sustained serious injuries and ₹1 lakh to the ones who sustained minor injuries in the horrific three-train accident tragedy.