Siliguri: “We were sleeping, suddenly there was the sound of a huge blast. I opened my eyes to see the coach enveloped in thick smoke. We immediately rushed out of the compartment to save our lives. My friends suffered injuries on the head and legs,” said Laxmi Shaw, a passenger, while talking to Millennium Post.
She was travelling in the North East Express that had derailed near Buxar in Bihar late on Wednesday night. Laxmi is a resident of Darjeeling and she had boarded the train from Delhi.
Kajal Chhetri, a pregnant woman, was on the train with her husband. She has been in a state of shock since the accident. “Our compartment derailed and we fell on the ground. I had pain in my stomach. The Railway staff helped us.” She was returning home to Darjeeling from Delhi.
The Railways arranged a special train for the passengers who met with the accident on Wednesday night. The train arrived at New Jalpaiguri Railway station on Thursday evening. The North East Frontier Railway officials arranged for snacks, water and free luggage transportation services at the platform. The passengers who got down at NJP Station were provided transportation free-of-cost.
Archana Malpani, accompanied by her 2-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son and husband said: “We boarded the train from Mughalsarai to go to Guwahati. We were in an AC compartment. We had just completed our dinner and were about to go to sleep. Suddenly, it felt like an earthquake with strong tremors. I somehow managed to come out from the train with my children. We were so scared.”
A total of 263 passengers got down at New Jalpaiguri Railway Station. Railways had arranged 50 porters for them. 146 people got down at Kishanganj, 123 passengers at Barsoi and 78 passengers in Katihar.
Safar Ali, staff of the pantry car of the North East Express suffered head injuries in the incident. He was provided medical assistance at NJP Station.