Driver in Arakkonam train mishap lost most parts of his face

Chennai, Sept 16: The nation witnessed yet another deadly train mishap, the recent Arakkonam train tragedy in Tamil Nadu that led to the death of 10 people and the number of injured more than 100. With a human error cited as a cause of the accident, it was reported that the driver was over-speeding and he jumped red signals before the accident struck.

With the driver of the EMU train, A. Rajkumar seriously hurt and fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the investigating authorities are not able to find answers to key questions they have pertaining to train accident. It is revealed that he has lost most parts of his face in the impact of the crash.

Deepak Krishnan, the general manager of Southern Railway has been quoted as saying, "A reading of our signal records show that the EMU had jumped two signals before Arakkonam, and was probably going to do the same at Sitheri, the accident spot. A full investigation by the safety commission would confirm this. Since it was raining he was expected to drive cautiously which he was not doing."

Meanwhile, the health condition of the driver is extremely grave and he had to undergo plastic surgery to reconstruct his face. His jaw was dislocated making it difficult to even utter a word. Constantly pumped with painkillers, he is under the influence of sedatives most of the time. The only sounds he makes, are occasional groans due to the extreme pain he is going through in spite of the pain killers.

Dr Anand Prathap, resident medical officer commented on the driver's condition, "Rajkumar"s jaw was dislocated; and most of his face had been scraped off. On Wednesday he was in no condition to talk to anybody, be it the railway authorities, or reporters. He is being fed through a tube, and has been unconscious most of the time. We have given him high doses of painkillers."

OneIndia News