At least four passengers were killed and 23 others injured (thirteen of them seriously) when 12 coaches of Dibrugarh-bound Rajdhani Express derailed near Chapra in Bihar’s Saran district on June 25.
Eighteen wagons of a goods train also derailed due to a blast in east Champaran district with the SP Vinay Kumar not ruling out the involvement of Maoists. Chief public relations officer of East Central Railway (ECR) Arvind Kumar Rajak said while three passengers were killed in the Rajdhani derailment, another succumbed to injuries in a hospital.
According to reports seven coaches—B-5 to B-10 and the power car of the Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani derailed at Golden Ganj station, about 75km from Patna, while five coaches, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 and the pantry car overturned at around 2 am. Arvind Rajak said some of the coaches were hurled as far as 700 feet away from the track.
The accident took place at around 2.00 am. By 4.00 am about a hundred swayamsevaks had reached the spot. They safely took out the passengers trapped in the damaged coaches and provided them first aid. They also shifted the injured passengers at safe places. By 7.00 am the swayamsevaks provided tea and biscuits to the passengers and also made arrangements for drinking water. At about 7.45 am, a special train came from Hajipur and the passengers were shifted in that train so that they can reach their destinations safely. Since the belongings of many passengers had dispersed in the accident the swayamsevaks helped them collecting the articles and handed over the concerned passengers. They also loaded the articles of the passengers in the special train.
The entire rescue operation was carried out in the supervision of Shri Ramdayal Shram, principal of local Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Vibhag Pracharak Shri Rajaram and Nagar Karyavah Shri Sujit. Some swayamsevaks also rushed Chapra hospital and helped the medical staff providing medical aid to the victims. The seriously injured passengers were referred to Patna Medical College, where some swayamsevaks were already deployed for the care of the passengers.
About a dozen workers including Kshetra Karyavah Dr Mohan Singh, Prant Prachar Pramukh Shri Rajesh Pandey, Prant Sharirik Pramukh Shri Ajit had reached the Medical College even before the injured passengers were taken there. The condition of Achintya Saikia (45) who was returning after heart surgery from Delhi, was serious. Retired railways employee Shri Mewaram (65) received fracture in his leg. Thirteen year old Mauli Dhavan was the most unfortunate passenger who lost her parents in the accident. They were coming from Ferozabad of Uttar Pradesh and were going to Guwahati.
The passengers who reached Hajipur by Special Train were also provided meals by the swayamsevaks at the platform itself. They were also provided meals for further journey.
—Sanjeev Kumar, Patna
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