Relief train with 55 injured people reaches Orissa

A relief train carrying 55 injured passengers of the Tata-Bilaspur train that derailed due to a blast triggered by Maoists in Jharkhand's West Singbhum arrived in the steel town of Rourkela, Orissa in the wee hours of Friday.

Two passengers were killed in the mishap.

Area Manager, Bondamunda Railway Yard, H K Padhee, who escorted the injured passengers, said that of the 55 injured, 32 were discharged after first aid, while the rest were admitted to the Ispat General Hospital and Government Hospital in Rourkela.

He said two engines of the train had derailed while two bogies completely toppled over and three had tilted.

The blast was so powerful that it ripped up the tracks on the Up line, while the electrical circuit in the down line was damaged. "The Down line was being restored, but it would take some time to restore the up track," Padhee said.

The injured passengers said they heard a very loud explosion.

Bholanath Sagar of Birmaharajpur in Orissa's Sonepur district said he heard a loud bang and saw two bogies being hurled off the track.

Local people came quickly to the rescue while the railway and administration took two hours to reach the spot, he said.

Another passenger, Parameshwar Pradhan was too stunned to speak and was crying as he alighted on the platform. Neoti Pramanick, with her head bandaged said she was unable to see properly after the explosion, but had managed to crawl out of her compartment.

Another passenger Madan Charan Bihari, who received injuries in the face and chest, said he was in one of the bogies that toppled over completely. He was pulled to safety from a window of the coach he was travelling in.

A small businessman from this steel town, Subodh Kumar Sahu waited nervously on the platform as his fiancee was on board the ill-fated train.

He was relieved after seeing her coming out unharmed. "I am thankful to god that nothing happened to her." CRPF personnel had helped in the rescue operations.