KENDRAPARA: Three persons including a minor of Tunga village under Kendrapara’s Aul block have been some of the lucky few to survive the horrific train mishap at Bahanaga that took the lives of 288 people.
Narrating the harrowing experience, 62-year-old Kailash Parida said he along with his daughter Anuja (30) and grandson Araba (5) had boarded the ill-fated Coromandel Express from Kolkata and was on way to Chennai as Anuja’s husband Janmejaya worked there.
“We were travelling in the B-5 coach. The train was moving at a very high speed when we experienced a sudden jolt and our compartment turned upside-down, throwing all of us from our seats. Before we realised what happened, the entire area turned dark and smoky. While my daughter suffered head injuries, my grandson and I were safe. With the help of locals, we managed to crawl out of the overturned bogie,” he added.
Anuja said it all happened in a flash. “Some passengers of our compartment died while many sustained grievous injuries. We saw bodies strewn across the tracks. Though we survived, the trauma will remain inside me forever. After this incident, I would avoid going to distant places via train,” she added.