Immediately after the first-ever bomb blast inside a train in Chennai, there was much panic. But the official machinery soon pressed into action and immediately arranged for evacuation of the injured and cordoning off the platform.
According to eyewitness accounts, the twin blasts shook the compartments and panic-struck passengers began running away. “Some people came calling out to other bogies and asked people to run stating there would be more blasts. We all started running with our bags and I could hear people’s screams from the two compartments from which white smoke was emanating,” said Raman Singh, a passenger from West Bengal.
While people were running away from the site, a bunch of police personnel both from the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF), rushed towards the bogies within minutes, were attending to the injured. The other passengers and paramedics then began to help the wounded on the train.
When the first set of scribes reached platform nine, the scene was horrific. The platform was blood-splattered and the injured were administered first-aid by paramedics who swiftly transported them 108 ambulances waiting at the beginning of the platforms.
The body of the young woman, the only passenger killed in the twin blast, was brought out of the train and shifted to a location near Moore market gate. Paramedics examined the body before shifting it to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, just across the road. Doctors said it made a lot of difference that a tertiary care medical centre was available at close quarters, especially for those with grievous injuries.
Meanwhile, the area outside the two coaches was cordoned off with a posse of policemen regulating the panicky and inquisitive crowd and thronging mediapersons. As all the injured were swiftly shifted to the hospital, police teams took over and combed the coaches for crucial evidence.
