Accident scene from above
Ompal Bhatia, a survivor of the tragic train accident in the Indian state of Odisha on June 2, initially thought he was dead. Bhatia was on his way to work in Chennai with three friends when the train he was on derailed.
Workers' ship
The 25-year-old man stood for much of the four-hour journey on the Coromandel Express, Reuters reported. Bhatia, who works in the plywood business, said that shortly before the train crashed, killing nearly 300 people, some people were getting ready to go to sleep.
His train, S3, was so crowded that there was only standing room. He had to hold on to a chain, as did his friends.
The train is often the commuter of choice for daily wage workers and low-wage workers in industries around Chennai and Bangalore. The carriage Bhatia was travelling in did not have air conditioning.
Nearly 300 dead, hundreds of ambulances at scene of Indian train crash
The train traverses the hills along India’s east coast, taking more than 24 hours to complete the 1,000-mile journey. Many, like Bhatia, are crammed into cramped carriages with standing room only.
It was already dusk. Some of the people who had seats were about to finish their dinner, while others were trying to rest.
A victim's body at the scene
Moti Sheikh, 30, was also standing and chatting with a group of six other men from the same village. They planned to eat and sleep on the ground because there was no place to sit.
Bhatia and Sheikh said there was suddenly a loud, violent noise, and they felt the train suddenly start to reverse. At first, Sheikh thought it was the sound of brakes screeching, but then the train car flipped over.
"When the accident happened, we thought we were dead. When we realized we were alive, we started looking for the emergency window to get out of the train. The train had derailed and tilted to one side," Bhatia told Reuters by phone on June 3.
When he and his friends escaped, he found the scene around them in chaos.
“We saw a lot of people dying. Everyone was trying to save their lives or look for their loved ones,” he said. Luckily, he and his friends survived.
Sheikh said he and his friends also felt they would not survive. "We were crying when we came out," he said, adding that it took about 20 minutes for the first help to arrive.
Signal problem
The Coromandel Express veered off course, hitting a stationary freight train and then a second passenger train coming from the opposite direction. As of Friday evening, at least 288 people had died in India’s worst rail accident in decades, according to official figures. More than 800 others were injured.
A preliminary report said a signal malfunction was the cause of the crash. As rescue operations continue, the death toll is likely to rise. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the crash site.
"(I) have assessed the situation at the site of the tragedy in Odisha. No words can express my deep sorrow. We are committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected," Mr. Modi said.
Prime Minister Modi at the scene on June 3
Archana Paul, a housewife from West Bengal state, was travelling on another train, the Howrah Yesvantpur Express, when the accident occurred.
“There was a loud noise and everything went black,” she said.
Paul, who was travelling with her brother and 10-year-old son, realised the train had derailed. "I was fine, so I started looking for my son and brother, but I couldn't find them," she said.
She told everyone to slowly start standing up. "They wanted me to go out, but I said no, I needed to find my son. But they insisted that I go out first," she said.
She was taken out of the train and waited for her son to appear, but he was not found. She was then put in an ambulance and taken to a hospital in Balasore.
Lying in his hospital bed, Paul burst into tears as he spoke to Reuters and asked for help in finding his son.
Also travelling on the Howrah Yeshvantpur Express was Kaushida Das, aged around 55. She survived the accident but her daughter died.
"Even though I survived, there was nothing left for me to try to live for. My daughter was everything to me," she said.
Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the families of those killed would receive 1 million rupees (about 285 million VND), while those seriously injured would receive 200,000 rupees and 50,000 rupees for those with minor injuries. Several state governments have also announced compensation.
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