JAJPUR ROAD: Providence. What else? The Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express, carrying around 1,500 passengers, hurtles off the tracks at a speed of over 100 kmph. The engine and bogies tumble around, several coaches piling on one another.
The magnitude of the disaster, as seen on the ground, projects a picture of alarming proportions. But, death toll at final count is nine. More than 125 have been injured, mostly not very serious.
Three reasons. First, the accident occurred within the town area, hardly 300 metres from Jajpur Road railway station.
Second, the famous annual Vyasa Sarovar fair was underway in the vicinity, prompting almost instantaneous reaction from the locals. Third and the most important, the two general compartments, which were crowded to the hilt, did not overturn or get crushed by the trailing coaches.
Within moments of the accident, locals rushed to the spot in thousands, engaging themselves in the rescue act. Passengers trapped inside the mangled compartments were pulled out through windows split open by digging rods and rushed to the nearby Jajpur Road Area Hospital in motorcycles, rickshaws and even bicycles until the ambulances came in.
By the time the rescue train, which was mobilised from Khurda, about 120 km away, and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units reached, major damage had been prevented. The specialised units were then able to focus on the worst affected S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5, which had been reduced to a heap. Delay in initiation of rescue efforts could have proved costly, Collector Dhiren Kumar Das admitted.
While most of the passengers were evacuated from the affected compartments by around 1 am, the last trapped person was recovered from S1 coach after three more hours of intensive efforts by rescue personnel in dead condition.
Of the nine casualties, four have been identified. They are Asit Kumar Sinha, a railway engineer from Panaspur in Jajpur district, Dr Pavan Pillai of RK Nagar in Berhampur, Laxminarayan Manna of Babali in 24 South Parganas of West Bengal and Om Prakash of Rabindrapath VIP road at Kolkata. The bodies have been sent to Danagadi hospital for postmortem while the rest unidentified ones would be housed in the morgue at SCB Medical, Cuttack. As many as 44 injured were shifted to SCBMCH of whom 24 have been discharged.
The driver of the train, Udhav Jani, is stated to be in a critical condition.
The injured, who were in a condition to be relieved after primary treatment, were housed at the NC High School, Sathya Sai temple premises and Ferro Chrome Plant guest house. The administration, locals, organisations and the industrial houses arranged for food.