A shrill siren blared at 8.50 a.m. outside Gooty Railway Station, as railway engineering and security officials rushed to the Ballast Siding, where they heard the loud sound of a crash as two bogies of a passenger train ‘derailed’.
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Gooty Station Manager V. Kiran and other security personnel at the railway station swung into action to rescue the injured passengers. The services of government departments like the Disaster Response and Fire Services Department, and doctors from nearby hospitals and police personnel were requisitioned to assist in the rescue operation.
The entire scene was a mock accident enacted to test the response time and the operating procedures in the aftermath of a real accident. South Central Railway’s Guntakal Divisional Railway Manager K. Venkata Ramana Reddy, Divisional Safety Officer Rama Naik and Additional DRM K. Surya Narayana also took part in the mock accident.
A 25-member rescue team from the 10th Battalion of NDRF (Bengaluru) led by H.C. Pandey, Inspector, and 12 Scout Rovers used sophisticated equipment to cut through the mangled doors and windows to gain entry and bring out injured passengers within eight minutes. The entire rescue operation was completed by 11 a.m.
With the help of the Self-Propelled Accident Relief Medical Van, officials demonstrated how entry is gained into burning or mangled coaches in order to safely extricate trapped passengers. Rescuers also demonstrated how injured passengers are shifted to hospital in ambulances. Hydraulic spitters were used to prise open mangled coaches. Firefighting staff demonstrated how extinguishers and hydrants are used to put out fires in the event of a derailment.