Tamil Nadu government has not been able to get in touch only with six of the total 28 people from the state who were travelling on the Coromandel Express, involved in a crash in Odisha’s Balasore district, but they are believed to be safe as the coaches in which they travelled were not affected much.
Youth Affairs and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who camped in Odisha for two days along with Transport Minister S S Sivashankar to oversee the relief work, said officials spoke to others who travelled on the same coaches as they did to arrive at a conclusion that they must be safe.
“As of yesterday, we hadn’t been able to get in touch with eight passengers. But our officials spoke to two of the passengers. As far as the remaining six are concerned, we haven’t been able to speak to them directly, but we have ascertained that they are safe,” Udhayanidhi said.
A senior government official added, “All are safe. The 6 passengers whom we could not contact as we didn't have their numbers, are also safe, as per the co-passengers.” With this, he said, it is safe to conclude that no one from Tamil Nadu is affected in the train crash.
The statement comes a day after as many as 137 passengers of the Coromandel Express, who escaped with minor injuries or unhurt in the crash involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore district, arrived at the Chennai Central Railway Station through a special train.
Of the 137, medical examination was done for 36 passengers and 34 of them were taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). Of this, only three have been admitted as in-patients at the hospital, while the remaining 31 were released after first aid, an official statement from the government said.
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