India woke to shocking news yesterday morning. Triple Train collision on the Howrah-Chennai main line in Balasore district of Orissa about 250 kms. From Kolkata and 170 kms. from Bhubaneshwar on the 2nd of June at 7:00 p.m. IST, in which two express trains and one goods train collided, killing hundreds of people, injuring thousands, and rendering another couple of thousands bereaving their loved ones for life.
The Coromondal Express headed towards Chennai Central collided with a stationary freight train and derailed. As if this was not enough, another express train the SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah superfast collided with the wreckage of this train. After the crash, the bogies of the Coromondal Express overturned and ended up on the opposite track into which the Bengaluru-Howrah Express collided.
The passengers travelling on the train suddenly heard a loud thud following which they fell down from their berths after which the lights too suddenly went off. An NDRF jawan Venkatesh who was travelling in Coromondal Express as he was going on leave to his home in Chennai was the first person to alert his seniors and NDRF about the accident and informed the local administration and sent the live location of the accident to the teams on WhatsApp, with the help which rescue teams arrived. He was travelling in A.C. coach and though the coach was derailed but hadn’t collided so there weren’t many casualties in the coach. He immediately rushed out of the coach and with the help of roadside shopkeepers started the primary rescue by bringing the injured out of the derailed bogies using their mobile phone torches as it was already pitch dark.
He did all that he could till rescue teams arrived. My salute to the Jawan who proved that humanity is still alive. This is believed to be the worst train collision in the history of Indian railways and the deadliest in the last twenty years. Even a thought about the way the trains have collided, back-to-back with one bogie crushing the other, ripping apart even the track and the tracks piercing through the bogies amputating people and making this journey their final one sends shivers down the spine.
Pictures of limbless dead bodies, blood-bathed tracks, injured waiting for help to arrive and people searching for their lost families numb the brain beyond imagination. The broken wheels scattered on the tracks like toys, covering dead bodies waiting for their identification to be with their loved ones, one last time before they merge into panchamahabhuta is enough to leave one teary-eyed thinking about the impermanence of life.
People who might have embarked upon those journeys for varied reasons. Some of them might be students going to join colleges dreaming about a new future, some families might be on their return journeys after visiting their native places, coming out for business trips, and some for miscellaneous important tasks or attending family functions. But those who accept nature knew that this lay in store for them on that fateful track, that evening.
Another passenger states how after that deafening sound, he fell off his upper berth on the ground and everything started moving in all directions. He somehow managed to come out of the damaged coach and is lucky to have escaped with minor injuries. Another passenger who escaped shares how it was totally chaotic inside and how she and her fellow passengers got off the compartment in fear and spent
the night in the fields nearby till the Bengaluru-Howrah trains unaffected wagons departed for their destination in the wee hours of the morning.
Another passenger states that how they had to break the windows to come out after the train turned turtle to save themselves and how they helplessly saw people dying in front of their eyes. “It was shocking. I don’t think I’ll be ever able to overcome the effect of this dreadful accident”, he says.
The bodies were brought to Balasore District Hospital by 10:00 p.m. but within a short span and with the increasing sirens of ambulances, it became clear to the officials that the deluge of dead or injured was of a magnitude much bigger than they could expect and that Odisha had ever seen before. The morgue seems to be like a pile of white shrouds waiting to be identified, most of the bodies still lying untouched.
The health officials claim that they are dealing with a scale of tragedy they have never dealt with before. And though it is a district hospital still the tragedy was too big to immediately handle. But the staff is working round the clock to help the injured in all the ways they
can even with limited resources. The Odisha government has deployed additional doctors, medical staff, assistance, ambulances, and mobile health teams in Balasore, Bahanaga and Soro. Locals are also lined up outside the hospitals for blood donation outside the hospitals throughout the night, which is very crucial in treatment of trauma. Even the medical staff is surprised at this initiative of a large number
of youth.
Once again I salute these medical professionals and the youth of today who are helping saving lives of many with their precious donation and efforts. Many passengers are also being treated at Howrah railway station. The Odisha government has promised to provide all the relief and medical assistance necessary for the victims and families. West Bengal Chief minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee too visited the accident site and apart from the political questioning she too has promised all the help to the victims and relatives of the deceased.
Indian Air Force is also involved with its MI 17 helicopters in rescue operations for the evacuation of deceased and injured. The NDRF along with Indian railways is carrying out the major rescue and restoration operation on the line. Cranes are working continuously to pull up
the train cars.
Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi too visited the accident site personally and has ordered a high-level inquiry into the events leading to this horrifying accident and has assured all the help from the railway ministry and the central government. “It is a painful and heartbreaking accident. The deceased cannot be brought back but the government is with the families in this moment of distress. It is a very serious incident and probe has been ordered keeping in view each and every angle and the guilty will not be spared”, he said.
He also commended citizens who helped carry the rescue operations smoothly and efficiently. “The courage and compassion shown by our people in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. As soon as the mishap took place people immersed themselves in assisting rescue operations. Several people lined up to donate blood. I commend each and every person, the team of railways, NDRF, ODRAF, local authorities, police, fire service and volunteers who are working tirelessly to strengthen the relief operations. Proud of their dedication”, Sh. Modi tweeted.
Prima facie this seems to be a signalling error but with advanced systems in use now which are claimed to be almost error-free how this major mishap involving three trains back-to-back occur will only be revealed after a detailed investigation. Whatever may be the reason but lives lost cannot be regained, neither those who have been injured either physically or mentally may be able to overcome this trauma for life. May they would never again want to step inside a train.
But at the end of it …….. Life must go on. Restoration is complete and another Coromondal Express and Howrah-bound Shalimar Express will run on full speed on the same track carrying hundreds of passengers every day, just that the location will now be termed as ill-fated forever.
Though there have been incidents of buses overcharging passengers due to the non-availability of trains and other such minor selfish incidents but the government is taking due care not to let such people kill humanity by their selfish acts. But on the whole, humanity has proved that it’s still alive through many incidents that happened to lead to locals, common people, co-passengers, and of course the rescue teams working to the best of their efforts in the aftermath of this devastating accident perhaps in the history of Indian Railways. I pray to God to grant strength to the next of the deceased and to those who have had a miraculous escape from this accident. May such errors leading to such a huge loss of life and property never occur in future.
The Momma Clan 
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