Officials in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said they are closely coordinating with Odisha authorities following the train tragedy. While the Coromandel Express was heading to Chennai, the Howrah Superfast Express had departed from Bengaluru. According to sources in South Western Railways (SWR), 994 reserved passengers and about 300 unreserved passengers had boarded the latter from Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal. The SWR in a statement said, "It is learnt that 2 GS coaches and Brake Van of a train that left from SMVT derailed. As they were unreserved coaches, it will take some time to ascertain identity of passengers." An official said they were getting several inquiry calls. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had a telephonic conversation with his Odisha counterpart. A delegation led by Tamil Nadu's Transport Minister, S S Sivasankar, will depart from Chennai on Saturday morning for the site of the accident in Odisha. According to Sivasankar, senior government officials are in touch with their Odisha counterparts to organise the necessary assistance and exchange more details about the accident.
