167 'lucky' passengers of ill-fated Kalka Mail arrive in Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) It was a train journey that
these passengers would certainly want to forget but the
memories of them getting trapped inside the ill-fated Kalka
Mail and others screaming for help would linger on through
their life time.
Some 167 passengers, who survived the derailment of
the Delhi-bound express train Sunday in the north Indian state
Uttar Pradesh, arrived here Monday with horror tales to
narrate to their relatives and media persons who were waiting
for them at the Delhi railway station here.
They came here by a special train from Uttar Pradesh.
Terrified and shocked, the passengers thanked god and
recounted memories of Sunday's accident which killed over
50 people and injured 150 others.
"I am thankful to God for keeping me alive today. If I
am talking today, it is only because of him," was all Dilip,
an injured passengers, could say after his arrival here.
Dilip along with Badal, Sanjay and Susan were
travelling in the general compartment of the Delhi-bound
train.
Dilip's head banged against the window of the coach
due to the sudden impact of the accident near Malwa station in
Uttar Pradesh.
"I could not realise what happened at first but after
a few minutes we realised the gravity of the situation," Badal
who also received minor injury said.
"We wriggled to safety through the windows as there
was no other way to escape. It was a miraculous escape because
and we saw dead bodies all around," Badal said.
Trina Majumdar had a different story to tell. She was
hoping to reach Delhi Sunday to take admission in M.Sc
(Chemistry) in Delhi University, but lost her baggage in the
accident.
"The bag had all my certificates and other documents
needed for my admission," she said.
Injured in her right leg, Trina said it took over
three hours for rescuers to reach the accident spot. "We
did not even have water to drink."
Another passenger Rajat said it would take sometime
for him to come to terms with life as he saw dead bodies lying
all over the train.
"There were dead bodies in the coach and some bodies
were in a very bad shape. I can't explain it in words...," he
said.
An anxious Geeta along with her son was waiting for
the special train so that she can receive her husband B R
Chawla.
"I take this train regularly but this is the first
time it met with an accident," Chawla said as he had an
emotional reunion with his family.
"I came out of the emergency window of the S-3 coach
after 15 minutes of the accident and since then I am yet to
recover from the ghastly scenes witnessed at the accident
site," he said.
Another injured passenger Hasim said: "I also lost a
bag in the melee. There was no time to look for the bag as our
prime concern was to come out of the coach safely." PTI ARU
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