Jalgaon train tragedy: 4 Nepalese among victims; companions, kin recall horror

MUMBAI: The sorrow of the family of a Nepalese man killed in the Jalgaon train accident knew no bounds as they had to not only bear the grief but also identify him through the mutilated body parts, leaving them in a state of shock.

Lachchiram Khataru Pasi was among the four persons hailing from Nepal who died along with nine others when some passengers of the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express, who got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident, were run over by the Karnataka Express on the adjacent tracks in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening.

Pasi's companions, who survived the tragedy, also narrated how they remained huddled in a cramped space between the two trains to save themselves.

At least four out of the 13 persons killed in the Jalgaon train accident on Wednesday have been identified as hailing from Nepal, authorities said on Thursday.

A minor boy and two women were among the four Nepalese victims, they said.

The four Nepalese victims have been identified as Kamala Navin Bhandari (43) (who lived at Colaba in Mumbai), Javakala Bhate (60) (who resided at Bhiwandi in Thane), Lachchiram Khataru Pasi (40) and Imtiyaz Ali (11), as per a list provided by authorities.

Lachchiram Pasi's nephew Ramrang Pasi, who lives in Jalgaon, said his uncle hailed from Narainapur in Nepal's Banke district and was in his 50s.

"Some portions of his hands and legs are missing," Ramrang told PTI.

He said his uncle was travelling on the Pushpak Express to Thane from Nepal via Lucknow with five other persons, who all are day wagers and survived the tragedy, he said.

He said they identified his uncle through his face and clothes, but the sight (of the mutilated remains) was so scary that their mind went blank for a moment.

The body has not yet been handed over to them, Ramrang said, adding they want to take his uncle's mortal remains to his native place in Nepal.

Recounting the horror, Shaukat Ali, a worker from Nepal who was travelling with Lachchiram, said, "A fire rumour was spread in the train. We saw smoke inside the bogie. When the train slowed, we hastily stepped down and the train got empty."

As they stepped down, the other train moving in the opposite direction approached there within a couple of minutes. Before they could comprehend the situation, everyone started running helter-skelter to save their lives while there was no place even to escape, he said.

"We found a small space between the two trains and we laid down there by tightly holding on to each other, hence survived," Ali said.

Meanwhile, out of the injured persons, 10 were undergoing treatment - nine at the Pachora civil hospital and one at a medical facility in Jalgaon city. The others who suffered minor injuries were discharged, an official said earlier in the day.

A team of the Central Railway personnel on Wednesday night visited the hospitals and distributed a total ex-gratia of Rs 2.70 lakh to nine of the injured passengers, an official said.

The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora town in north Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, when the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express halted after someone pulled the chain at around 4.45 pm on Wednesday, Central Railway officials earlier said.

Some passengers onboard the Pushpak Express, fearing a blaze, hastily jumped onto the adjacent tracks and were run over by the oncoming Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi, as per officials.

Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, however, denied that any spark or fire inside the coach caused passengers to pull the alarm.