Some lived to recount the horror, but some families just vanished

HARDA/ BHOPAL: "When I saw coaches of my train plunging into water, I called my daughters and said this might be the last call as the train was sinking," recalls Arun Pandey, 57, who was among several passengers in S-4 coach of Kamayani Express to have come out of jaws of death.

But some were not as lucky as Arun. "There was a seven-year-old kid with his parents near our seat playing all the while during the journey. The kid and his father drowned. His wife and daughter survived. I tried to stop them from getting on the roof through emergency window but they didn't listen," he said.

Three-year-old Gudiya was lucky to survive. But she saw her grandmother washed away before her eyes and she just can't come out of the trauma. Harda resident Nitesh Prajapati, Gudiya's rescuer, said: "She was not ready to leave me. Her parents came at around 6 pm. Even then, she was not ready to leave me,"

Gudiya's grandfather, Murli Verma, said, "I saw my wife drown, but I was helpless. My son and daughter-in-law are safe."

Ghanshyam Rajak, who was on a pilgrimage to Shirdi, made the last call to his brother, Manish, as he saw eleven members of his family sinking. He could not save them even as he stood on a high ground and witnessed their hands flailing before slipping into the swollen Machak river. "A little after midnight, my cousin Ghanshyam, the lone survivor, called up and broke the news about the tragedy. Ghanshyam told me water entered their coach and there was hardly a chance to survive," Manish said.

Ghanshyam's younger brother Jitendra, a resident of Umra village, said, "We have lost everyone from the family. My maternal uncle and other relatives rushed to spot in night."

But some families had a miraculous escape. Vipin Mishra, who was in S-11 coach, said all seven members of his family, including two-month-old son survived. "I saw four people drown in front of me. We remained in water for more than four hours and waited for rescuers," he said. Ganesh Wadle, a resident of Bhopal said just 20 feet away from his coach, he saw two passengers fleeing from the wreckage only to get trapped in high-voltage overhead wires which snapped and fell on the tracks. "Within minutes, their bodies were tossed up in a ball of fire and turned into ashes," recounted Wadle. "But those inside were safe. They cringed to touch anything metallic. I looked out of the window and continued to witness serial explosions lighting up the sky," he added.

A badly shaken survivor said the first-aid was provided to them onlyat 3.30 am when they reached Harda railway station.

Times View

Railway safety has unfortunately not received the kind of priority it should have over the years, with governments preferring to focus on populist gimmicks like new trains and frozen fares rather than make the investments needed to ensure safety. To be fair, the current rail minister has indicated that he is willing to buck that trend. However, he has to back up his stated intent with much more action on the ground if such accidents are to be minimized. At present, they recur with tragic regularity, claiming hundreds of lives every year.