Odisha Train Crash: School Used As Temporary Morgue Demolished

A government-run school in Balasore, Odisha was turned into a temporary morgue where the bodies of those killed in the three-train crash were kept. Today, the school-turned-morgue was demolished.

The students of Bahanaga High School were reluctant to return to their classes as the building had been used as a makeshift morgue. Since students and their parents were hesitant to return to the building, the school management committee pleaded with the state government to demolish the building.

The committee said that the students and parents were traumatised by the accident and the building was no longer safe.

Suggested Reading: Odisha Triple Train Derailment Leaves Over 230 Dead: 10 Things To Know

Odisha School Turned Morgue

Headmistress Pramila Swain spoke with the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) and said that the younger students were scared. She added that some of the senior students and National Cadet Corp cadets had joined the rescue efforts after the crash on June 2.

The headmistress also revealed that the school planned on hosting spiritual programmes to help students, their parents, and teachers overcome their fears.

Located around 500 metres away from the crash site, the empty school was used as a temporary shelter for more than 250 bodies before they were moved to hospital morgues. Students and teachers refused to enter the premises when it reopens on June 16.

While all of the bodies were transported to morgues and the building was sanitised, the students remained uneasy about returning to the building.

The Balasore district collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde visited the school and said that the locals and school management committee wanted to demolish and renovate the building so students wouldn't have any apprehensions about attending classes.

The school was demolished and once the new building is ready, a priest will sanctify the building so children aren't scared after school opens. The schools in Odisha will reopen in a few weeks after the summer break.

Aswathy S, the Odisha school and mass education department secretary said that counselling will be provided to students and teachers. She added that many teachers had volunteered to help move the bodies and would require counselling.

The three-train accident is one of the deadliest train crashes in India. More than 280 people were killed in the crash.