11 July,2011 08:02 AM IST | | Sidhant Maheshwari
Anxious people were running from pillar to post at the Old Delhi Railway Station to enquire about their relatives who were onboard the Howrah-Delhi-Kalka mail that got derailed on Sunday
Manuel Anthony came to Old Delhi Railway Station looking for his father. Faridabad resident Victor Anthony was travelling in the general compartment of Howrah-Delhi-Kalka Mail which got derailed at Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Many questions: Relatives of the victims of Kalka Express derailment
getting information from help desk at Old Delhi Railway Station on
Sunday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan
Manuel anxiously asked railway officials whether they knew anything regarding the whereabouts of people travelling in the general compartments of the train. But unfortunately the officials seemed to have no clue.
"My father was travelling in the general compartment of the train. I haven't heard from him after the train accident. I am really worried about his condition. I just hope he is fine," Manuel said.
Derailed: The Old Delhi Railway Station.
"HE went to visit my grandparents and he could not get a ticket earlier in AC class and that is the reason why he was travelling in the general compartment. Now, I wish that he hadn't even got the general ticket," he added.
Both Manuel and Neelesh were there, searching for relatives. Pics/Mid Day
Manuel was not the only one waiting there, hoping against hope. There were many others who were searching for close ones who were expected to arrive in Delhi via the ill-fated train. Neelesh Jha, a resident of Delhi was waiting for his best friend AK Jha to arrive. But now Neelesh is all set to leave for Kanpur. His anxious look betrayed his frame of mind.
"I am very worried about him. I just hope he is fine because I haven't been in touch with him since the derailment. I wish he is among those who survived without much damage," Neelesh said. "I will take the special train to Kanpur which has been arranged by railways to ferry relatives of the passengers who were involved in the accident," he added.
At least 40 passengers were killed and more than 300 injured when 15 bogies of the train derailed at Malwa in Uttar Pradesh. The accident occurred at around 12.20 pm when the train was near Malwa station. The government has directed Commissioner of Railway Safety to investigate. Reports said, the train was moving at about 108 kilometres per hour when the derailment occurred.
While some of the bogies had turned upside down, others were turned into a distorted mass of metal. Gas cutters and other similar equipment were being used to cut through the metal in the coaches of the train to save the passengers who were trapped inside them, reports said.
Anxious relatives and friends of the passengers, many of them in tears, gathered at Howrah, Kanpur and other stations to enquire about the fate of their loved ones. Railways ran two special trains for carrying relatives and friends of Howrah-Kalka Mail accident victims to the site of the mishap near Malwa station in Uttar Pradesh. A special train will run from Delhi to Kanpur and another from Howrah to Fatehpur which will carry relatives and friends of victims of the train derailment.
15 out of the total 24 coaches were derailed in the accident of which 10 were severely damaged. Of these, six were air-conditioned bogies. While an AC 3-tier coach had keeled over, two other AC coaches crashed into each other and stood almost vertical. Desperate to come out of the deformed coaches, some of the passengers trapped inside started breaking the window panes. Locals, railway and district authorities began rescue work immediately after the mishap. Army has also sent in about 120 personnel from nearby cities of Allahabad and Kanpur to assist them, reports said.
"Railway Ministry is surviving on God's mercy. For the last so many years all development works have stopped in Railways. There is no concern for safety and security. This incident would not have happened, had this train been equipped with anti-collision device," said BJP's Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.
Yet again
At least fifty passengers were injured as four coaches of Guwahati-Puri Express derailed following a suspected explosion near Rangia in Assam's Kamrup (Rural) district last evening, railway sources said. The train left Guwahati railway station at 5.40 pm and the incident occurred at Dhatkuchi between Rangia and Ghagrapar about 30 km from here, they said. The engine and four bogies derailed in the remote area at around 8.30 pm. It is suspected that the derailment took place following an explosion. But it is yet to be confirmed, they said.
Railway officials have rushed to the spot with relief material and medical aid.
