At least 30 passengers of the 67 who had booked tickets on the Bangalore City–Nanded Express which caught fire, have survived.
Twenty-six passengers were confirmed dead by the Railway officials who added that the fate of a few more passengers is yet to be ascertained. Also, it was not clear if some passengers had boarded the train or alighted somewhere. This can be confirmed after the ticket examiner reaches Bangalore, Sunanda Arul, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore division, said.
Meanwhile, seven passengers, who were injured and are now out of danger are Vijay Ramamurthy, Tanushree, her father Natesh and mother Vijetha, Tanuja, Dhal Indra and Narahari Rao.
S.K. Singh, Warrant Officer with the Indian Air Force posted at Bidar, heaved a sigh of relief when he came to know that his daughter Parul Singh (23), escaped unhurt in the incident. She had boarded the train in Bangalore where she works as an engineer in a software company.
Mr. Singh told The Hindu over phone that his daughter “is safe and the authorities are making arrangements to send her to Gulbarga”.
Another victim, M. Ramamurthy’s wife, Vijaya, who was injured and was undergoing treatment at Anantapur government hospital, is being shifted to Mysore, her hometown. Mr. Ramamurthy is safe.
Also figuring among the survivors is Ambarish Makka, who headed back to Bangalore. His brother, Basavaraj Makkal jumped off the train with his luggage. Though he left behind his phone on the train, he managed to inform his family of the incident and assured them of his safety.
At least five persons from Mysore, who were travelling in B1 coach of Nanded Express, returned home on their own.
