Vidarbha Express passenger recounts horror on tracks

The Mumbai-Gondia Vidarbha Express, which collided with a derailed Mumbai-bound local train on Thursday night near Shahpur in Maharashtra, came to a halt after a loud noise, according to the passenger Bhagyashri Karewar of the coach S-10.

"There was a loud noise after which the train stopped. The bogey had derailed before the passengers could realise anything," said Karewar (24), who sustained injuries to forehead.

A resident of nearby Badlapur, Karewar, on her way to Pulgaon in Vardha district, was the only one in the bogey to sustain injuries.

"My bogey lay on top of another bogey. I was on the upper berth and had banged into the fan due to the impact," she told PTI.

"I climbed down from the coach and somehow managed to come out of the compartment. It was dark and raining, but with the help of other passengers, I reached the highway, which was not very far," she said.

Karewar then called up one of her relatives, who rushed there and took her to the sub-district hospital.

According to the Central Railway, 31 persons were injured while one person was killed (as per the revised toll) in the collision which took place at about 9.30 pm on Thursday night between Kasara and Umbermali, in Thane district.

Most of the injured were rushed to Igatpuri Railway Hospital and Kasara Primary Health Centre, local police said.

Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal had said on Thursday night that the local train derailed after running into boulders and mud that had fallen onto the tracks following a landslide. The Express train ran into the derailed coaches.