Balasore: The death toll in the triple train accident, which occurred in Odisha's Balasore district, has touched 233, media reports said on Saturday.

More than 900 people have been injured in the mishap where three trains collided one after the other, causing one of the worst railway accidents in the country.

 Odisha Chief Secretary tweeted to confirm the death toll when he said: "Death toll rises to 233 in the Balasore Train Accident. @CMO_Odisha@IPR_Odisha
@RailMinIndia@SecyChief@SRC_Odisha."

Railway Minister Aswani Vaishnaw on Saturday morning arrived at ground zero at Bahanaga station and reviewed the situation with senior railway officials, NDRF and ODRAF teams.

Railway Board Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti was also present at the spot.

The Railway Minister has already ordered a high-level inquiry into the accident.

As per the latest report, over 900 passengers have been rescued and admitted to different hospitals.

The casualty figure is likely to rise as one general bogie is half-buried in the accident site, and efforts were on to retrieve bodies from it, sources told UNI.

The bodies extricated from the coaches have been kept in two schools in Bahanaga.

The corpses would be taken to local hospitals for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a state mourning on Saturday.

No state celebration would take place throughout the day.

Patnaik and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are scheduled to reach the accident site on Saturday morning.

A technical team of the Railway made an aerial survey of the accident site early in the morning.

The Chief Secretary said three trains were involved in the accident. - Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel express , Yeshawantpur -Howrah express and a goods train.

As many as 15 coaches and one engine got derailed or capsized in the mishap at around 7 PM.
 
Sources told UNI after a collision with a goods train, ten coaches of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express capsized, while another coach and the engine derailed and fell on the opposite track.
 
After some time, the Howrah-bound Yeshwanthpur-Howrah Express dashed into those derailed coaches.
 
As a result, two GS coaches and two bogies of that train also derailed and capsized.

Railway Helpline numbers have been issued for the information of stranded passengers. The Helpline numbers are as follows:

Howrah Help line Number : 033-26382217

Kharagpur Help line Number: 8972073925 & 9332392339

Balasore Help line Number: 8249591559 & 7978418322

Shalimar Help line Number: 9903370746

Santragachi Jn Help line Number : 8109289460, 8340649469