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130 days after Odisha train tragedy, cremation of unclaimed bodies begins
The bodies had been lying in frozen containers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhubaneswar
BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday evening started the cremation of the 28 bodies lying unclaimed following the Bahanaga Bazar train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2.
“We started the cremation of three bodies at the cremation ground using wood… We will do the cremation of the remaining bodies over the next 2-3 days. As the bodies were kept in frozen containers for a long time, we want to see how much time does it take… Accordingly, we will take a decision,” BMC commissioner Vijay Amrita Kulange said.
The three bodies were disposed of in the presence of officials of the municipal corporation, East Coast Railway (ECoR) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The remaining 25 bodies kept in AIIMS morgue will be handed over to BMC on Wednesday. The entire process has been videographed.
On the evening of June 2, the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train at Bahanaga Bazar. A few of its derailed coaches then collided with the onrushing Howrah-bound Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express in what was India’s worst rail accident in three decades.
Of the 296 killed, 162 bodies were kept at AIIMS Bhubaneswar morgue, of which 81 bodies were handed over to the kin of the deceased after identification. Of the remaining 81, hospital authorities handed over 53 bodies after DNA matching, while 28 bodies remained unclaimed.
At the Railway Police Force Barrack of Balasore railway station, there are no claimants for 147 bags of passengers travelling in the two general compartments of Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express.
“As two general compartments of Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express fell onto the ditch near the track and the bags were crushed under their weight, they could be salvaged by the police two days later. The 147 rucksacks have been number-tagged to differentiate them. However, we have got no claimants for the same in the last 4 months,” an RPF officer said.
