“We never thought we would see you again. Many passengers around us died on the spot. It’s a rebirth for us, all thanks to the almighty,” said a survivor of the triple train wreck who reached Vijayawada on a special train from Balasore on Saturday.
The survivors shuddered as they recounted details of the horrific accident. “It was dark outside and the train had just crossed Balasore railway station and was near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station. It was going at a high speed, when suddenly there was a deafening noise and we were flung around. The coach rolled upside down, and the passengers began screaming in fear. I thought I was going to die,” said Abu Kasim Laskar, a cloth merchant who had boarded the Coromandel Express in Kolkata.
“It was pitch-dark outside and I was stuck in the coach and could not see anything. After what seemed like an interminable wait, rescuers came to the spot and extricated me from the coach,” Mr. Laskar told The Hindu at Vijayawada Railway Station.
