Gopal Das may well have played a major role in reducing the magnitude of the collision between the Jammu-Ahmedabad Express and the Jalandhar-Pathankot DMU passenger train in Mansar village in Punjab.
The 46-year-old railway employee has been manning railway crossing no 125 in Mansar village for the last 20 years. The crossing lies between Bhagala and Mirthal railway stations.
On Tuesday, the station master of Bhagala had intimated him about the arrival of the DMU from the Jalandhar side. But Das had no information about a train coming from the Pathankot side, in this case, the Jammu-Ahmedabad Express.
"The moment I realised that two trains were heading towards each other, I put red flags on both sides of the track to warn the train drivers. While the driver of Jammu-Ahmedabad Express applied the brake, the DMU driver did not, probably unable to see the flag due to a sharp bend," Das told rediff.com.