Odisha train accident survivors from Karnataka recount horror: ‘The images will haunt me for life’

“It was around 8.30 pm. The train suddenly stopped and there was a big noise. The coaches behind us, AC and General, hit the coaches of another train on the opposite track (the Coromandel Express). The two compartments were detached and got left behind while we moved further away from the accident spot,” said Jain (41), native of Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru district.

Initially, as the train came to stop, people in his coach did not realise that an accident had taken place, Jain said. “But as people started to get off the train, we noticed that some of the coaches behind were missing and there were marks of major damage. We started walking on the track using a mobile phone torch as it was pitch dark. As we neared the accident spot, I saw dead bodies full of blood lying on the track. I can never forget that image,” he said.

He said that some people from a nearby village had brought ladders to get inside the train and rescue people. “They were taking out bodies and placing them on the side of the track. It was really painful and I was unable to come to terms with what I was seeing,” he said.

Police and ambulances reached the spot some time later, Jain added.

Nagaswamy Shetty (76), also from Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru, said, “There was no hint of the derailment of the other train, and our train was heading at the usual speed.”

Shetty was also among those who were part of the Sammed Shikharji Yatra. Located in Jharkhand, Sammed Shikharji is a holy site for the Jain community.

The yatris with Shetty were in the S5 coach of the train. “We were performing prayers and there was a big jerk, and we all fell down from our seats. The train moved for another one kilometre before coming to a halt. Later, we got to know that a few coaches were hit.”

Shetty and other pilgrims from Kalasa had left the town on May 31 and boarded the train from Bengaluru on June 1. “Our train was scheduled to leave at 10.30 pm, but left two hours late. After the accident, a diesel engine came and took the remaining coaches to another platform. Now, we are heading to Kolkata and we are lucky to be alive,” he said.

Shekar, a native of Bihar who was working in Chennai, was on the Coromandel Express. He sustained minor injuries in the accident. With an engine taking the remaining coaches of the Bengaluru-Howra train to Kolkata, Shekar was put on that train. “After the accident, I somehow managed to get out of it and the officials shifted me to this train. It was a gory picture.”