Distraught relatives of passengers on the ill-fated Indore-Patna Express searched frantically for their loved ones on Monday, a day after the worst rail accident in recent years claimed 143 lives.
For most, it has been a painstaking effort to trace relatives, even to find out if they had survived the catastrophic derailment.
“Whoever I have found is dead... my brother, my older sister-in-law, daughter... I haven’t found my mother yet. I fear I will find her in the same condition,” said an inconsolable Nirmal Verma. He was supposed to travel with the family for a wedding but postponed his journey as he did not get leave.
“I am looking for my brother. Who knows? He may have changed his seat... we have searched everywhere...” said Ramanand Tiwari, refusing to give up hope.
One of the survivors said, “Don’t have any news about my brother. We have searched all the hospitals. I fear that he is trapped.”
Rescue workers wrapped up efforts to extricate trapped passengers from the mangled bogies after an overnight operation under floodlights. Cold cutters were used to open up the compartments.
A man, whose two sisters were on the train, reached the accident site, to find that one of them was dead and the other missing. “No one has any information about her (the second sister),” he said, having spent the night frantically visiting hospitals and asking officials for information.
Survivors’ horror stories
One survivor recounted that the derailment “sounded like beating of drums”, while another recalled just a “loud bang” soon after 3 a.m. when most of the passengers were jolted out of their sleep.
“We saw bogies piled on top of one another,” said a man, who sustained minor injuries.
Yet another survivor is still battling the nightmare of having waited for hours among bodies for rescue workers who cut open the bogie. “I could not believe it was really happening. I was the only one alive in the coach,” he said, fighting back tears. — PTI
