Kerala blasts: Toll climbs to 3, Chief Minister to chair all-party meet today

​ 

India Today | India 

The accident occurred between two passenger trains on the Howrah-Chennai line last evening in Vizianagaram district.A special passenger train between Visakhapatnam and Palasa had stopped on the tracks between Alamanda and Kantakapalle due to no signal when a Vizag-Raigad passenger train rammed it from behind. Three coaches were derailed in the impact.Railways sources said the tragedy was a result of human error, adding that signalling was not noticed by loco pilot.Pictures from the site last evening showed the coaches derailed and people crowding around. Except the derailed and affected coaches, the site was cleared by midnight, said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.All 40 injured persons are from Andhra Pradesh and four of them are critical, updated Vizianagaram District administration. A railway spokesperson had confirmed the nine deaths last night.The railway minister has announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the family of those who died. Those who suffered serious injuries will get Rs 2.5 lakh and passengers with minor injuries will get Rs 50,000, he said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the situation and condoled the loss of lives. He announced another Rs 2 lakh assistance for the family of those who died in the accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured.The railway minister also spoke to Chief Minister YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy. Mr Reddy expressed deep shock over the accident and ordered all arrangements to be made to ensure treatment of the injured. He has also sought time-to-time update on the incident.The war room in Delhi railway ministry is monitoring the situation, said the Railways source. The East Coast Railway has released helpline numbers.Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad, who visited the accident site, said last night the final death figure could be ascertained after the coaches are checked. He further said they are in the process of separating the entangled coaches and would get a clearer picture once that is done.

The death count from the series of blasts at a convention centre in Kerala’s Kalamassery increased to three on Monday.

A 12-year-old girl, who was among over 50 people injured in the blast at a Christian religious gathering on Sunday, died at the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital.

Libina from Kerala’s Ernakulam district was admitted to the hospital with severe burns covering 95 per cent of her body and was put on ventilator support.

Earlier, two women died and over 50 people were injured in multiple blasts at a Christian religious gathering in a convention centre in Kalamassery in the Ernakulam district. 

The blasts took place when hundreds of followers of the minority Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses had assembled on the concluding day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.

Hours after the blasts, which sent shockwaves across the country and put Delhi and Mumbai on high alert, a man claiming to be a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before police in Kerala’s Thrissur district.

IED used in Kerala blasts

The Kerala Police said that the Improvised Explosive Device was used in the blasts. The explosives were kept in a tiffin box, said sources.

According to officials, there were around 2,000 people at the convention centre when the blasts took place. Sunday was the last day of the three-day meeting, which started on October 27.

The blasts will now be probed by the National Investigation Agency, which specialises in counter-terrorism operations. The agency’s forensic team reached the spot on Sunday and collected evidence.

Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC as well as provisions of the Explosives Act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).