The Odisha state transport department will provide free transport to family members who want to bring the dead bodies back to their hometowns.
Post Date – Friday 23rd – 2:28pm – June 30th
Bhubaneswar: Four weeks after a deadly train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district, authorities have identified 29 of the 81 bodies kept in containers at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneshwar Mayor Sulochana Das said 88 DNA samples were sent to New Delhi to identify the 81 dead bodies, of which test reports for 29 claimants had been delivered.
“We have notified the families of the 29 deceased who have been identified. Five have arrived at AIIMS and others will arrive shortly,” she said.
Coromandel Express bound for Chennai, SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express bound for Howrah and a freight train at Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district of Odisha on the evening of June 2 A tragic accident occurred nearby, killing at least 293 people and injuring more than 1,000.
Of the total dead, 81 bodies were unidentified, and the government has halted the process of handing over bodies after multiple people came to claim one. After verifying the relevant documents, the other remains were handed over to the family members of the deceased.
Hair, teeth, bone, nails and muscle tissue samples from each victim were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in New Delhi. Of these, AIIMS Bhubaneswar has received DNA reports from 29 dead bodies that matched its claimants. Test reports on the remaining bodies will be released in two more phases, the source said.
After hearing the news of the arrival of the DNA report, the families of the victims of the train accident rushed to AIIMS to wait to collect the bodies of their loved ones. Officials from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Railways, Orissa Transport Department and AIIMS are in the hospital. The identified bodies will be handed over to the families in the presence of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, the source said.
The Odisha state transport department will provide free transport to family members who want to bring the dead bodies back to their hometowns. About 10 ambulances are ready at the AIIMS site, transportation officials said.
If any family member decides to hold the last rites in Bhubaneswar, the local government makes all the arrangements for them at the Bharatpur and Satyanagar crematoriums.
