Train accident | On my way to my village for Diwali, grateful my son escaped: Injured passenger

CHENNAI: Vinoth Kumar Yadav (42) from Bihar, one of the passengers in Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express, suffered minor injuries during the train accident on Friday. He was on his annual visit to his village in Bihar for Deepavali.

At the Ponneri Government Hospital, he expressed relief that he had escaped with just minor injuries despite a major crash, but even more grateful that his son, Nitish Kumar (18), escaped without a scratch.

“He has completed Class 10. He came to Chennai to stay with me. I showed him the city and he enjoyed the stay. By god’s grace, there was not a scratch on him,” Vinoth told DT Next at Ponneri GH, where he was moved immediately after the collision.

The hospital is around 14 km from Kavarapettai railway station, the accident site. Passengers who suffered minor injuries were moved to Ponneri GH while three seriously injured ones were shifted to Stanley hospital.

Vinoth had been working at a stall in Kodambakkam for over 10 years, making samosas. A perturbed Vinoth recalled that he had gone to the Perambur railway station to get the tickets confirmed, and that too, only at the last moment.

“All I could recall was falling off my seat and feeling a sharp object in my calf area. Within minutes, there was a lot of commotion and the next thing I know, I was taken in an ambulance to the hospital. Fortunately, I managed to gather all my belongings,” Vinoth said. “Though I was injured in my leg, I feel pain in my arms too.”

Another passenger, Netrananadha Sahu (31) of Bargarh in Odisha, who was also injured on his foot, said that he had received a barrage of calls on Saturday after his family members heard about the accident. He was travelling in the unreserved coach and remembers all passengers falling to the ground after the collision. Sahu has been working at a workshop near Chennai for the last seven years.

When asked if he had enough help from the authorities, Sahu said, “A lot of local people came to our rescue and helped us with water and refreshments and pulled some passengers out.”

A few moments later, he pulled out a small postcard from his pocket. It bore the photograph of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy occupying the major real estate on the card and stamp-sized photographs of local AIADMK functionaries. “They gave me fruits and this card,” Sahu said.