Majority of accident victims identified

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, JUNE 23. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital here this morning and late last night as relatives identified the bodies of the victims of the ghastly train mishap in which six bogies of the Chennai-bound Mangalore-Chennai Mail toppled over the rail bridge into the Kadalundi river last evening.

Of the 48 who were declared dead, 47 have been identified. The majority of the bodies were released after postmortem examination. Of these, 37 were males and five females. There were five boys and one girl among those declared dead. The unidentified body was suspected to be of a student from the Calicut Regional Engineering College.

The death toll was unlikely to go up as the rescue team had more or less completed the extrication of the bodies from the bogies, according to sources at the control room here. However, chances of a couple of bodies still being embedded in the slush could not be ruled out, they added. Though the water was only knee deep due to low tide at the time of the accident, the Kadalundi river was known to be extremely slushy and hence a couple of bodies could still be trapped in the river, Railway control room sources add.

Those injured were in a state of shock. Initially, they were unable to recollect what exactly had gone wrong. One person who clearly remembered the moments immediately before the bogies toppled down the bridge was Haneef (27) who suffered a fracture on the thigh. Haneef was admitted to the casualty ward at the MCH. He vividly remembers his co-passenger who did not have his good fortune. Haneef was on a berth and hence escaped miraculously. He was rescued when the local people broke open the glass and took him out.

There was a family of four from Kotooly here who also escaped with minor injuries and were treated at the MCH. The family had boarded the train for Chennai.

While some say that they heard a loud noise as of a sudden break, others say that there was hardly any noise before the bogies toppled over

As many as 250 persons who were injured in the accident were undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and other hospitals in the district and neighbouring Malappuram. The condition of a couple of them was reported to be serious.

The injured are undergoing treatment at the Tirurangadi Government Hospital, Faroke Hospital, Koya's Hospital at Cheruvannur, besides the Baby Memorial Hospital and National Hospital here. Over 105 persons were being treated to the MCH itself.

The non-existence of an emergency task force to deal with such exigencies was evident. However, the public support at the time of the tragedy was magnanimous by all accounts.

As an advocate, who was present at the MCH last night when the accident victims were being brought in, pointed out, such a task force ought to be in a position to initiate action within three minutes of an eventuality.

Local youth, including those who had come from neighbouring Malappuram district, were seen pitching tents in the pouring rain in the dark to lay out the bodies for identification.

Almost everyone who could assist was there at the MCH or the accident site. The presence of the Health Minister at the accident site made rescue operations easier with ambulances carrying the injured rushing to the MCH and private hospitals. Para medical workers and volunteers of the Trauma Care Centre also helped in the rescue operations.

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Section  : Southern States
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