Odisha train crash: Survivors from Tamil Nadu recount harrowing tales

CHENNAI: Survivors of the train accident from Tamil Nadu, who reached Chennai on Saturday, recounted harrowing tales from the accident site. The wreckage, bodies strewn all around, the cry of the injured for help and the blood splattered everywhere has left us with a lifelong scar, they said.

“I was in the A2 compartment. While those like us who were in compartments farther away from the engine managed to get out, we found that the situation outside was much worse than we had expected. Immediately after the accident, people in the locality started to help. They provided water and food to those who were alive. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t help everyone as there were cries for help from all directions,” said Ramesh Velraj, who returned to Chennai by flight. The Alangulam native works in Kolkata. With help from the locals, he travelled to Bhubaneswar by bus.

A family of four from Neyveli was among those who reached Chennai by flight on Saturday. “I was inside the train with my wife, daughter and father-in-law. My daughter and I were in the upper berth. We felt the train shaking heavily and thought that it has derailed. We were in the B7 compartment and initially, it was difficult to open the door. We managed to get out as the damage to our coach was not that bad,” said Bhuvaneswaran, who works in Howrah in Bengal.

While some managed to reach Chennai by flight, others are still on their way on board a special train that will arrive on Sunday. Rajesh and five of his friends, who went to Shalimar to work as drivers, are returning on the special train. They were travelling in coaches S1 and S4 of the Coromandel Express train when the accident occurred.“One of my friends and I were in the lower berth around 7 pm when the accident took place,” said Rajesh.