Hirakhand express derailment: Bride-to-be loses her parents

Visakhapatnam: There were heartbreaking scenes at hospitals in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and the accident spot near Kuneru station in Vizianagaram district on Sunday following the derailment of the Hirakhand Express.

“I was heartbroken after seeing the dead body of my brother-in-law lying on top of me. The dark night of Saturday will haunt me till the end of my life,” said M. Somu Naidu of Visakhapatnam district, who was travelling in the train.

Leena Pandit, 22, and soon to be a bride was brought to the Area Hospital at Parvathi-puram for treatment of her injuries. She was distraught at the death of both her parents, Ramprasad Pandit, 54, and Jasodha Pandit, 47. The three of them were travelling to Puri to offer her first wedding card to Lord Jagannath.

“She was too shaken up to speak a single word after the accident. It was a bad day for all of us. Her marriage was supposed to have been held in March. They were going to Puri to seek the blessings of the god for her marriage,” said a relative.

S. Eswar, who boarded the train along with his family in Junagarh, had survived with a few injuries and was shifted to a local hospital in Parvathipuram. Ranjankumar Purida from Odisha, who was in S7 coach, said; “I heard a thunderous sound at about 11.15 pm and there was subsequent jerking and derailment of the bogies one by one within seconds. The S8 and S9 coaches were completely off the track.”

S. Lalitha described how she had to search for her children. “It was dark. The injured were asking for water and the relatives were struggling to find their family members. Luckily, I managed to find my kids with only minor scratches on their forearms and heads,” she said.