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2 bogies lifted at Kadalundi; toll put at 48

The work of restoring the tracks at the site of Friday's train accident at Kadalundi, where a portion of the bridge collapsed, was on in full swing on Sunday, railway sources in Calicut said, even as the toll in the tragedy was officially put at 48.

Hospital sources had put the toll at 57 on Saturday. But railway sources had maintained that it was 52, though they added that more bodies could be trapped in the submerged compartments. But on Sunday the hospital sources confirmed that the toll was 48.

No casualties were reported on Sunday from the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where 11 critically injured passengers are undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, all the bodies except three have been handed over to the next of kin. Only the relatives of Somroop Majumdar and Nirmal Jyothi from West Bengal and C P Saiju of Thalassery in Kerala were yet to arrive.

Railway sources said two bogies that had fallen into the Kadalundi river had been lifted and the remaining four would be extricated by late evening. New steel girders for replacing the damaged portion of the bridge are being brought to Kadalundi.

Rail traffic from Kerala through the Konkan route remains suspended. The construction of a new bridge over the Kadalundi is only halfway through and will take time. The old bridge is being repaired as a temporary measure.

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Railway Safety Pranab Kumar Sen will conduct the preliminary inquiry into the mishap from Monday. He will hold sittings at Calicut on June 25 and 26 to elicit the views of the survivors and the local public.

PTI

The Complete Coverage: The Kerala train mishap

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