Odisha train tragedy: 82 bodies unidentified as relatives await DNA reports

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met the AIIMS authorities on Friday and discussed the process of identification. “DNA matching is the only way for identification in a scientific manner and we are taking all steps in this regard,” Pradhan told reporters.

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The Odisha government Friday began razing the Bahanaga school that was used as a morgue for train crash victims. Officials said the 65-yr-old building was unsafe and students were reluctant to attend classes in a place where bodies were kept. A new school building will come up here. PTI

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A week after the train tragedy in Balasore district, which claimed 288 lives, as many as 82 bodies were still unidentified, officials said Friday. Yet to get the DNA reports that would help in the identification of the bodies, the families of the victims have begun returning home.

Official sources said the authorities at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where the bodies are kept, have not handed even a single one of them to the awaiting families in the past 48 hours. Most of the corpses have decomposed beyond recognition, they said.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met the AIIMS authorities on Friday and discussed the process of identification. “DNA matching is the only way for identification in a scientific manner and we are taking all steps in this regard,” Pradhan told reporters.

AIIMS authorities said the DNA profiling of the bodies has been completed. They have also collected blood samples from more than 50 relatives which will be sent to New Delhi in a day or two.

Also Read | Odisha train tragedy: For greater safety, decongest rail routes

“Some people from Bihar and West Bengal are still coming to claim bodies… we have asked them to identify the bodies from the photos. We are collecting their blood samples for a DNA test, which will confirm their identification,” said a senior official at the hospital.

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Rescue operation underway following an accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train, in Balasore district, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (PTI)

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At least 238 people have been killed, and over 900 injured (Photo : Reuters)

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Rescue teams search the wreckage of the trains during a rescue operation after the triple train mishap, in Balasore district. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

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The accident took place at 7 am yesterday when a passenger train hit the derailed coaches of another train followed by a collision with a goods train causing a crash of several coaches. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

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Visuals from the crash site showed smashed train coaches torn open and twisted train tracks. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

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NDRF personnel carry out rescue work (PTI Photo)

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People, who were injured in trains collision, lie in a hospital corridor in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. REUTERS

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Odisha Coromandel Express train accident: 288 dead

Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw overseeing the restoration work at the accident spot. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik meets an injured at a hospital in Balasore (PTI)

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An official gives a demonstration about the Odisha train accident as Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting to take the stock of situation after the mishap, in New Delhi, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (PTI Photo)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes stock of the situation at the site of the accident in Balasore district, Saturday, June 3, 2023. Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is also seen. (PTI Photo)

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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya meets an injured at Capital Hospital following Friday's accident involving three trains, in Bhubaneswar. (PTI)

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Emergency helpline number has been released by the Odisha Government ( Photo : PTI)

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People look at pictures to identify the bodies of victims of a train collision, at a temporary mortuary created in a business park, following the train collision in Balasore district in Odisha. (Reuters)

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Frantic family members throng Bahanaga high school, speak with authorities in a desperate attempt to identify the dead bodies. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

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Sheikh Abdul Wahab of South 24 parganas district is doing rounds of the bodies with the picture of his brother Md Giasuddin Sheikh who was travelling to Chennai to work as a mason. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

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Disaster Response Force personnel at Chennai Central railway station, where a special train carrying passengers injured in an accident involving three trains arrived at the station on Sunday. (PTI)

Sources in the state government said any further decision on disposing of any unclaimed bodies will be taken only after the DNA reports arrive.

Also Read | Odisha train tragedy: With multiple claimants for bodies, state govt begins DNA sampling

A resident of Bihar’s Motihari, Subash Sahani was among those waiting outside AIIMS. He said he had identified his brother Raja’s body from the photographs, but was disappointed after being told another family had claimed it.

The body, which was taken to West Bengal, was brought back to Bhubaneswar after the family that had claimed it found Raja’s Aadhaar card in his pocket.