AIIMS doctors dispatched to Balasore, Cuttack to aid relief efforts

Doctors from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar have been dispatched to Balasore and Cuttack in Odisha to assist in the relief operations at site of the train accident that killed at least 261 people, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

"Two teams of doctors from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar have been dispatched for Balasore and Cuttack to assist in relief operations at the rail accident site in Odisha," Mandaviya said on Twitter.

"We are providing all required help and medical assistance to the victims of the tragic train accident to save precious lives," he added.

The death toll in the accident involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train in Odisha's Balasore district has risen to 261, a South Eastern Railway official said.

Rescue operations at the site have been completed, he said.

"The number of casualties in Friday's railway accident has increased to 261. Another 650 injured passengers are being treated at various hospitals in Odisha," according to Aditya Chowdhury, a spokesperson for South Eastern Railway.