‘My daughter is injured but alive’: At Howrah railway station, many count their blessings

At Howrah, destination for the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express which had derailed, an anxious Sapan Chowdhury (60) waited for his daughter Aishi Chowdhury (23). She was alive, he told The Indian Express, but had received injuries from glass shards in the accident. Sapan said his daughter works in the IT industry in Karnataka.

Also at the station was Sheikh Moinuddin (52), father of Nafisa Parveen (21). “She is pursuing nursing in Karnataka and was coming home for the holidays. I spoke to her over the phone. She was in the train that derailed but she’s okay,” he said.

Ripan Das (29) is another survivor of the accident. The migrant labourer was returning from Karnataka, his brother Sujay Das (33) said. “He was in an ambulance when he called me. He has injuries on his neck, waist and leg,” Das said.

At a press conference, the state’s Chief Secretary, Harikrishna Dwivedi, said they had information that the accident was “severe and grave”.

“Exact number might not be known but we came to know that many people are injured, and unfortunately some may have lost their lives,” he said.

He said the state was in touch with the Odisha administration and a team headed by state minister Manas Bhunia was being sent there. “We have already sent some ambulances to rescue injured passengers and super-speciality hospitals of West Midnapore and Kolkata are also ready to accommodate them. We assured the Odisha administration that we are ready to give necessary support,” he said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that “some of our outbound people have been seriously affected/injured”. “We are sending a 5-6 member team to the spot to cooperate with the Odisha government and railway authorities and to assist rescue operations. I am monitoring the situation personally with the Chief Secretary and other senior officers,” she said.