28 passengers not responding to phone call: Botsa Satyanarayana

Andhra Pradesh Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana said that about 28 passengers were still out of reach of phone calls.

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh did not suffer heavy casualties by God’s grace, and only one person died in the Odisha train accident, according to Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana.

Addressing a meeting at the collectorate here on Sunday afternoon, he said a senior citizen from Srikakulam, Gurumurthy, died in the mishap and his family would be given Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia. While Rs. 2 lakh for those with serious injuries, Rs 1 lakh for minor injuries would be given as compensation which would be in addition to the relief provided by the Centre, he clarified.

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Disclosing that as many as 50 ambulances were sent from Andhra Pradesh to the accident, the minister said a helicopter was also kept ready. Five injured passengers were being treated in Visakhapatnam hospitals, he said.

While there was no information on the passengers who travelled in unreserved coaches, he revealed that there were still 185 unidentified bodies whose identification could be easy if their photographs were released in the media, he said, adding that 28 persons were still out of reach of phone calls.