Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday reached the accident spot in Odisha's Balasore and took stock of the situation and assured to conduct a detailed high-level inquiry on the mishap.
As the cars were at risk of explosion, the authorities pierced the containers, thinking of carrying out a 'controlled release' of the chemical. But the chemical started burning, releasing toxic fumes into the air and into a town that has a population of 5000 people.
A Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice L Nageswara Rao, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul noted that it was impossible for the apex court to track who was walking and who was not.
The poor workers sleeping on the tracks were mowed down by the goods train carrying petrol and diesel from Nanded to Manmad at 5.15 am. Five of them escaped with injuries and they have been rushed to a hospital.