Odisha train crash: School building where bodies were kept demolished

Authorities on Friday morning began the demolition of a school building, where bodies of those killed in the train crash at Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore last week were kept, saying the students were reluctance to return to the institute as it served as a makeshift morgue.

The crash involving three trains, including Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, left 288 people dead about 100 metres from the Bahanaga High School.

Rajaram Mohapatra, a school managing committee member, said the rooms where the bodies were kept were sanitised but the students and their parents remained unconvinced.

On Thursday, Balasore district collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde visited the school and said it would be demolished if the committee submits a resolution. 

The committee accordingly submitted the resolution following which the demolition started. Schools in Odisha are due to reopen on June 19 after summer break.

Blood-soaked and dismembered bodies were kept in three of the rooms at the school for identification.

Odisha school and mass education department secretary Aswathy S said that counselling of students and teachers will also be organised.