We saw many stuck inside

For eight-year-old Raj Kumar,the journey back home after a successful surgery on his leg in Udaipur was to be a happy one....

For eight-year-old Raj Kumar,the journey back home after a successful surgery on his leg in Udaipur was to be a happy one. But when he and his grandmother alighted the Mewar Express at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station this afternoon,they were badly shaken.

Raj and his grandmother were in the coach reserved for the handicapped,one of the three coaches of Mewar Express that bore the maximum damage due to the collision with Goa Express near Mathura early on Wednesday,killing 22 people. Both Raj and his grandmother were lucky to survive,although the boy suffered injuries on the same leg that had been operated upon. His grandmother suffered bruises as several passengers fell on her due to the impact of the collision.

As survivors of the accident arrived at the Nizamuddin station,their families and friends just wanted to rush them home. Though rail authorities had made arrangements for first aid and refreshments,the passengers hurried out.

While Raj was being wheeled out,his grandmother briefly recounted the incident: We were sleeping on the lower berths and were suddenly flung around. I found other passengers piled on us and Raj was howling in pain. Though we somehow managed to get out of the train,we saw many others stuck inside,wailing. Raj must have sustained severe injuries in his operated leg.

Lakshmi Devi,68,who was traveling with her family in one of the last sleeper coaches,said they were lucky to survive. We saw so many of the passengers stuck inside the mangled coach. We were really lucky to have escaped with very minor injuries. God saved us, she said. But the memory of the incident will haunt us. We saw so many people in pain and dying in front of us.

Fewer people would have lost their lives had the authorities come in for rescue operations on time. People were stuck in the mangled coaches for so long and only the villagers nearby came to help us, said a furious Mahendra Lakra.

Since early morning,relatives and friends of passengers waiting to receive them at the scheduled arrival time of 6.15 am were shocked to hear announcements of the accident. Many spent harrowing moments trying to get more information on the casualties or the status of the train.

Story continues below this ad

When Ram Lals father did not reach home on time,he inquired at the station and was told about the accident. The officials asked me to call on the five helpline numbers. All calls were diverted to the Nizamuddin station,where the authorities failed to give any information. I tried calling my father but the connectivity was poor. I was later relieved to receive a message that said he was safe.