'We were standing in the coach; that saved us...' 4 Odisha train accident survivors from Kerala
Four people from Thrissur, Kerala suffered injuries in the terrible train disaster in Balasore, Odisha on Friday (June 2). The incident happened when they were heading back to Kerala from Kolkata.
FollowBalasore: Four people from Thrissur, Kerala suffered injuries in the terrible train disaster in Balasore, Odisha on Friday, while they were travelling on the Coromandel Express. However, since they acted quickly, they miraculously survived. Raghu, Kiran, Vysakh and Vijish, residents of Anthikad and Irinjalakuda survived the tragic disaster.
The incident happened when they were heading back to Kerala from Kolkata. Their plan was to reach Chennai by the Coromandel Express and then head to Thrissur.
The train overturned to the left twice, according to injured passenger Kiran, an Anthikad native. He stated, "The accident claimed the lives of several of the passengers in the coach with us. We were standing inside the carriage, which just avoided an accident for us. By shattering the glass above the bogie, we were able to exit. We also helped three more people avoid death. We had a tooth loss. Suffered severe head and back injuries. After asking a neighbouring residence for assistance, we were admitted to a hospital."
The Kerala natives had gone to Kolkata for tile works at a temple construction site. Four others, who had accompanied them, returned to Kerala a few days back.
At least 238 people have lost their lives and over 650 are injured in the devastating train collision in Odisha. The incident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The tragic accident occurred near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, at around 7 pm on Friday.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared a one-day state mourning, and both the Odisha government and Indian Railways have set up helplines for assistance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and announced additional compensation from the PM's National Relief Fund.
The Balasore train crash has caused significant disruption to train services in the region, with several long-distance trains being cancelled. So far, 18 long-distance trains have been cancelled due to the accident, which happened on the Howrah-Chennai main line in the Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway.
