Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is shifting unidentified and unclaimed bodies of the Balasore train accident victims to morgues in the capital city here.

“The bodies will be kept in the morgues of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and other big hospitals in the city,” said Chief Secretary PK Jena.

According to the Chief Secretary, as many as 288 passengers were killed and more than 1,000 others sustained injuries in the mishap involving three trains near Bahanaga railway station in Balasore district yesterday.

“Some injured passengers have returned home after treatment. At present, around 800 injured passengers are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Odisha,” said the Chief Secretary.

He further revealed that bodies of some victims have been handed over to their family members. But, the authorities are yet to identify around 160 bodies, added the Chief Secretary.

“We are shifting the unidentified and unclaimed bodies from the accident site to Bhubaneswar. We may opt for DNA sampling and other methods to identify those bodies,” said the Chief Secretary.

Notably, the accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train near Bahanaga station in Odisha is one of the biggest mishaps in India in the recent past.