Bihar Train Incident: Survivors Recount Horrors Of Accident

The passengers, who were travelling on the 12506 Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express which derailed near the Raghunathpur station in Bihar's Buxar district on Wednesday, have opened up on the incident which killed at least four people and injured many others.

Six coaches of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express derailed at 9:53 pm and at least two AC III Tier coaches had toppled over while four other coaches jumped the tracks.

Vijay Kumar, the guard of the Kamakhya-bound train, has said that he fell unconscious by the impact of the derailment. "I was busy with my paperwork when I realised that the driver suddenly applied brakes. This was followed by a few jerks and I fainted. Later, I found myself in the adjoining fields, where villagers were sprinkling drops of water on my face," PTI quoted him as saying. He has suffered minor injuries.

64-year-old Mahendra Yadav, a resident of Madhepura, was travelling in an AC 3-tier coach. He said, "It was an experience I may never forget. Suddenly, all of us started getting tossed off our berths by a force that none of us could fathom." The senior citizen expresses deep appreciation for the community members who arrived at the scene and rescued a majority of the passengers from the overturned compartments before railway and other administrative officials arrived to provide aid.

In a nearby coach, Mohd Nasir and Abu Zahid, both hailing from Kishanganj district, were in a deep sleep, when the incident occurred. "We had boarded the train on Wednesday morning. It was a tiring journey and after having an early dinner, we went to sleep. The train would have reached Kishanganj early next morning. Suddenly I felt a jolt and got thrown off my berth. It took a while before I could understand what had happened," said Nasir.

Unfortunately, his friend Abu Zahid, who was in his 20s, was killed in the accident.

While Nasir thanked his stars for escaping with minor bruises in the accident, which saw virtually the entire train being thrown off the rails, his eyes turned moist as he recalled rescue personnel taking away the body of Abu Zahid, who is in his 20s, informing him that his friend was dead.

Twenty-three coaches of the train, on the way to Assam from Delhi, derailed near the Raghunathpur station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Indian Railways cancelled ten trains and diverted 21 after several coaches of 12506 Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express derailed near the Raghunathpur station in Bihar's Buxar district on Wednesday killing at least four people and injuring many others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives due to derailment of a few coaches of the North East Express. He stressed that authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected.

The railways on Thursday ordered a high-level inquiry into the derailment of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express.

An ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the next of kin of each deceased, and Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured, East Central Railway's chief public relations officer Birendra Kumar said in a statement.