Pukhrayan: In a flash, businessman Arun Sharma’s journey to Patna by the Indore-Patna Express turned into a nightmare. He was trapped in the worst-hit S1 coach for over 10 hours before being rescued and his nine-year-old son is missing.
Mr. Sharma, 42, his wife Nupur and older son, 11-year-old Gigyansh, were injured. His younger son Triyansh is yet to traced.
Mr. Sharma was travelling from Bhopal to Patna to attend his friend’s wedding on November 21. “We were all sleeping when we were violently jolted at around 3 am. All of us fell down.” Mr. Sharma suffered multiple fractures in his hands and is receiving treatment at the Mati government hospital here, 35 km from the site of the accident.
“I was rescued from the mangled remains of the bogie by Army men at 1 pm, almost 10 hours after the accident,” he said. His wife also suffered fractures in the hand and is receiving treatment at the same hospital.
“We are searching for their son in other hospitals where the injured have been admitted,” said Archana, a senior doctor at the hospital. Many injured passengers have been admitted to the Ursla and Hallat hospitals in Kanpur Urban district.
At every hospital, there were heart-wrenching scenes of families grieving the loss of their loved ones, young children looking for their parents and mothers looking for their children.
Several passengers were still trapped inside the mangled bogies and the death toll is expected to rise. — PTI