Purba Medinipur (West Bengal): It was a miraculous escape for a West Bengal family aboard the ill-fated Coromandel Express, one of the three trains involved in the Odisha train mishap, which claimed the lives of 261 passengers. Subroto Pal, his wife Deboshree and their young son were on their way to Chennai for a doctor's appointment.
The family from Malubasan village in Mahisadal in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal could not believe their luck as they escaped unhurt in the horrendous accident and returned home safely. "It is like god has given me a second life," Subroto Pal told ANI. Subroto and his wife were taking their son to Chennai to see a doctor.
According to Subroto, the family had left for Chennai after boarding the train at the Kharagpur station on Friday. "After the train passed the Balasore station, we felt a jolt. Then we saw the compartment filling with smoke," he said, adding he could not see anyone. "The locals came to my aid and they pulled me out of the wreckage," Subroto further said.
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Deboshree also echoed her husband's feelings. "It is like a second life for us. Till I remain alive, I will never be able to forget this accident," she said. "We were going to Chennai to see a doctor for our child. The accident happened at Balasore. We were not able to understand anything or find anyone. People were getting rammed over each other. We were not able to find our son. We still don't know how we survived," recalled Deboshree.
The official death toll in the triple train accident, which took place near the Bahanaga Bazar station, mounted to 261 on Saturday, a top official of the South Central Railway (SCR) said. The other trains involved in the mishap include the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the mishap spot on Saturday afternoon to take stock of the situation. Earlier, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who visited the train accident spot, announced a high-level inquiry into the mishap, the fourth deadliest railway accident in the country.
Following the train mishap, the SCR cancelled 33 trains and diverted 36 trains to other routes. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also visited the accident site on Saturday and assessed the situation.
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