Goa: StartUp20 Engagement Group delegates condole Odisha train tragedy

The two-day meeting of the StartUp20 Engagement Group, part of India's G20 presidency, culminated in Goa on Sunday with delegates expressing solidarity with victims of the Odisha train accident.

At least 288 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured in the crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train took place on Friday evening near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the StartUp20 Engagement Group meeting in Goa, Ashish Sinha, joint secretary, Union Ministry of External Affairs, said the meeting took place in a sombre environment because of the train accident on Friday.

All the delegations expressed condolences to the victims, their families and also wished a speedy recovery to the injured people, he said.

He said there is a norm in the G20 meetings that foreign delegates are given an introduction about the local culture, for which programmes