Heartbreaking! 26-year-old migrant worker who promised to send money to ailing father dies at deadly Odisha train accident

A sole breadwinner from Bihar was on his way to Kerala when the deadly train crash was reported from Odisha's Balasore distrcit on Friday. Identified as 26-year-old Raja Patel, the migrant worker's story was shared by newspaper Hindustan Times (HT) which stated that Patel was about to send money to his ailing father's medical expenses, however his untimely demise left the family shattered.

Raja, who along with six other friends had boarded the Coromandel Express train to visit Kerala, to earn their livelihood and improve the financial status of their respective families. While others suffered injuries, Raja lost his life to the fatal train accident.

The deceased is survived by two-month old child among others

It was noted that Raja was married a year ago, and is survived by his wife and their two-month-old child. The deceased's parents, father identified as Bhuvan Patel, are alive and heartbroken over the incident.

Raja's promise to ailing father

Earlier to boarding the train, the son had promised to take care of his father and his spinal cord problem that made him refrain from going to work. However, the death of the sole bread earner of the family kept a son-father promise unfulfilled. The father told the newspaper that Raja had promised to work and send money for his medical expenses. “He promised to send an additional ₹500 for my medicines before leaving for Kerala."

Ambulance's demand

Raja's father pointed out the plight they were undergoing - first, the loss of his son, and later came the financial crisis when the ambulance's demand left him feel helpless. "Now the ambulance service is demanding Rs 45,000 to bring Raja's body back home. How could we arrange the money as we are struggling for food on a daily basis," he was quoted as saying in a report by news agency IANS.

Death toll hits 288

The official toll in the devastating train accident was pegged at 288 so far, with 1,000 more sustaining injuries. A total of 1,175 injured were admitted to various government and private hospitals and 793 have, so far, been discharged after treatment.

Details about the deadly train crash

The preliminary report on the tragedy said the three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district.

It said 17 coaches of these two trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident on Friday evening.