Train derailment: Upper berths toppled onto cancer patients on way to Mumbai for treatment
Times of India | 31 July 2024
Several passengers were injured when upper berths collapsed on a Mumbai-bound train. Among the injured were couples traveling for cancer treatment MALDA/KHARAGPUR/KOLKATA: Badal Kumar Das and his wife Sabita Das were sleeping on the lower berths when the upper berths collapsed on them in a bone-rattling jerk. For the next two hours, the couple, who were travelling to Mumbai for Sabita's cancer treatment, could not move, buried under the berths.
"We were in great pain. I was worried about Sabita, she is anyway weak.The locals arrived after a couple of hours and rescued us," said Badal Kumar Das (66) over phone from a Ranchi hospital. They have been admitted to two different hospitals as Sabita's injuries are serious.
Another couple, Shyamaprasad Haldar (56) and Anjana (53) from Khamargachhi in Hooghly, were also on their way to Mumbai for cancer treatment. Anjana is undergoing treatment. "There was a deafening noise before the train jolted to a stop. I could feel the coach falling sideways. There were wails from passengers and people were flung in different directions. I could not find my wife. After a search, I found her stuck under a berth," said Shyamaprasad, also injured. Their son-in-law, Achintya Das, boarded a train to bring them back. "I am especially worried about my mother-in-law," he said.
Most of the injured were shifted to hospitals in Ranchi and Tata. Jamshed Ali, Sohrab Hossain and Kader Sk from Narhatta in Malda, who work as fruit vendors in Mumbai, are in a railway hospital for their injuries on their shoulders and face. Raju Sheikh from Chanchal in Malda was supposed to start work as a labourer in Dadar. "He is the sole breadwinner of the family," said a relative. "He is in hospital now. We hope he will return home soon."
Sahadeb Das from Chanditala in Hooghly, sustained injuries but decided to take the special train to Mumbai. "My wife and daughter are alone at home. I want to be with them, despite my injuries," he said.