Picture : ANI/X
The death toll in the collision of a passenger train with a goods train near Bilaspur railway station in Chhattisgarh has gone up to 11, officials said .
The incident occurred around 4 pm on Tuesday when the MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passenger train was heading to Bilaspur from Gevra (in neighbouring Korba district), they said.
“Eleven persons have lost their lives and 20 others were injured in the accident,” a statement issued by the Railways said.
The railway administration immediately launched relief and rescue operations. The injured persons were being provided with proper medical treatment at nearby hospitals, it added.
The impact of the collision was so severe that a coach of the passenger train ended up on top of a wagon of the cargo train, the railway officials said. The injured passengers have been shifted to Apollo Hospital and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) in Bilaspur.
“The passenger train hit the goods train from behind at a speed of 60 to 70 kmph after overshooting a red signal,” a senior railway official said.
Moments before the collision, Sanjeev Vishwakarma (35), a passenger of Gevra Road-Bilaspur train, was scrolling through his phone, while some passengers were busy chatting, and some were dozing off, unaware that within seconds, their journey would turn into a nightmare.
For Vishwakarma, a resident of Bilha (Bilaspur), what began as a routine return trip from his in-laws’ house in Akaltara ended in chaos and screams.
He is a vehicle driver.
“I was sitting in the first coach. There were about 16-17 of passengers, including men, women, and children. Suddenly, around 500 metres after leaving Gatora, the train shook violently and crashed into something. There was a thunderous sound followed by people’s screams…Then everything went dark,” he recalled.
“When I opened my eyes, I was pinned under the seat. People were crying for help. My coach had climbed onto the goods train. I saw bodies right in front of me. Three people, including a woman, died. Their faces still haunt me,” he said, lying on his hospital bed.
