Odisha rail mishap: 137 survivors arrive in Chennai on special train

CHENNAI: Shaken would be an understatement if one were to describe the trauma undergone by the 137 survivors of the Coromandel Express train accident, who arrived at Dr MGR Chennai Central Railway station in a special train on Sunday morning.
Also See: Odisha Train Accident Live
A cancer patient and her family from Bangladesh, a Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher, BSF personnel and their families, migrant workers and many others, travelled thousands of kilometres in another train to Chennai -- shuddering every time the locomotive picked up speed as the harrowing experience aboard the Coromandel Express on Friday evening had left them in a state of shock.

After the special train chugged into platform number 11 of the Chennai Central railway station at 4.20am on Sunday, Farzana Islam, a woman from Bangladesh who appeared in her late 40s were among the first few passengers to alight from coach B3. She looked exhausted as Health minister Ma Subramanian and health secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi enquired about her health and directed the medical staff to take her to the help desk.
“We came two days ago to India and were headed to Chennai for my wife’s cancer treatment in a private hospital in Chennai. Subsequently we had to leave for Vellore for further therapy. It was a nightmarish experience that we had, and my wife and daughters sustained injuries in their hands. Luckily some people helped us and we arrived here safely,” narrated a tired looking Waliyul Islam.

Those who travelled by general compartment said they had a near death experience. Sadam Hussain from Bihar had boarded the general compartment of Coromandel Express to travel to Chennai and then take another train to Kerala. He was in the third compartment from the engine he says and his coach toppled in the accident.
“There was commotion and no lights. We groped in the dark and holding the door handle we climbed up and then slowly got down to safety. I sustained injuries on my palm. When I looked ahead bodies were strewn everywhere. The general coaches ahead of ours were crumbled,” he recounted.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old BSF personnel Kanagaraj posted in Kolkata and was on his way home for vacation when the accident happened. He sustained injury on his left arm.
“I felt the train picking up speed and then after some time I heard sounds. Someone fell on my hand, and I got injured,” he recalled. Despite this he rescued people from the train and took them to safety.
Sivaranjani and her daughter Sanjana Sri had gone to Kolkata for vacation and were returning to Chennai when the mishap occurred. “My husband Satish Kumar works in the BSF. After being pulled out of the A 2 coach, I was shocked to see bodies being carried in tractors and lorries. After waiting there till 11 p.m, we were taken to a hospital in a private university bus from Odisha and subsequently arrangements were made to travel to Chennai,” he added.
Shamsudin, Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher from Payyanur, his wife Sameera T P, Payyanur municipal councillor and son Sadath had gone to Kolkata to help their son settle in the new city as he had got a job there.
“One side of our B 4 compartment was damaged, and smoke engulfed our coach. We somehow managed to get out. A LLB student Archie Sharma was travelling alone and sought our help to reach Bhubaneshwar. We booked a car and took her along,” he added.
Joy, a BSF personnel and his family were returning from Kolkata after his retirement function. “We had to go to Thrissur, and the connecting train was from Chennai. It was lucky we escaped unscathed,” he said.
After the exhaustive journey, 18 passengers with injuries were taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and others sipped some tea and awaited their transport to different hotels or to their homes.