Gouri Nagjee (53) tells Hemal Ashar about the train accident at Mahim station yesterday
Gouri Nagjee (53) tells Hemal Ashar about the train accident at Mahim station yesterday
Every Sunday, I travel from my home in Churchgate to Vile Parle to meet my grandmother. But yesterday, the commute turned into a nightmare.
I was in the ladies' compartment, the one that adjoins the luggage compartment. I remember thinking the train was quite packed.
At 12.49 pm, I think, the train stopped at Mahim station for longer than usual. I thought it was because we had not got the green signal.
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Zor Ka Jhatka: An Andheri-bound train collided with a Borivli local stationed on platform No 1 at Mahim station yesterday. Six people were injured and train services delayed by 20 minutes. |
My back was against the luggage compartment, which was next to the motorman's cabin. Suddenly I felt this huge impact and was pushed forward. The noise that accompanied it was deafening.
A second later, I saw debris flying everywhere. People inside the compartment screamed. Since we were still on the platform, a few girls and I got off the train.
Was it a blast?It wasn't a bomb blast as I had thought. I saw that another train on the same track had hit our train. The motorman's carriage seemed to have caved in.
The wall of the luggage compartment was completely dented. I could not help feeling a twinge for our motorman, who I thought may not have survived this.
In five minutes, I saw men clamber into our compartment to take whatever the women may have left behind. In time, a few policemen arrived to push the bystanders back.
I may be wrong, but we are not equipped to deal with such emergencies. I did not see an ambulance in the short while that I was on the platform. But I did see bystanders climbing into the mangled luggage compartment, maybe to help people.
I still do not understand how the other train could not have seen our stationary train. How could that motorman not have braked?
My lower back is sore, so I'll visit a doctor on Monday. But this incident will not stop me from commuting by train.
