Last minute not to board Coromandel Superfast Express saved our lives: Karnataka volleyball team

The players, whose tickets were not confirmed, said they wanted to take a chance after reaching the railway station.
Triple train crash in Odisha's Balasore. (Photo | EPS)
Triple train crash in Odisha's Balasore. (Photo | EPS)

BENGALURU: Members of the under 16 volleyball team from Karnataka, who were supposed to take Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Superfast Express, did not board it at the last minute as some of their tickets were not confirmed.

They now consider themselves lucky after learning that the train met with a tragic accident. “We were supposed to take that train at 5 pm but did not as some team members’ tickets were not confirmed,” said Mahadeva Murthy, team’s coach.

The team with 14 women and 18 men, including coaches and support staff, participated in a volleyball tournament in West Bengal’s Chandannagar from May 27 to June 1. They were supposed to return home on June 2.

The players, whose tickets were not confirmed, said they wanted to take a chance after reaching the railway station. “But the team’s last-minute decision not to board the train saved our lives,” they added.
“I just can’t imagine what could have happened to us if we had boarded the train,” said Mamatha Shetty, coach of the girls’ team. “As we had to return home, we were trying for train tickets.

Under the emergency quota, we booked Howrah-Bengaluru Express. But that too got cancelled. We were stranded at the station. Meghana, a railway employee from Mandya, took us to her quarters that night. Meghana made arrangements for male members of the team to stay at her colleague Sainath’s quarters. He hails from Andhra Pradesh (both joined the Railways under the sports quota),” Mamatha told TNSE.

The team members later approached the Karnataka Disaster Management Authority for help. “In the meantime, Hunsur SP Manjunath spoke to one of the team members who is from the taluk. He later informed the CMO and Labour Minister Santosh Lad. Lad spoke to us and arranged for flight tickets on June 3 to Bengaluru,” Mahadeva Murthy said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too spoke to the stranded team members and promised them all help. The players are from Tumakuru, Bengaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hunsur, Udupi and Raichur. 

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