Metropolis sees red: City keeps its cool, limps to normal

BORIVALI: Soon after the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express passed from Borivali railway station at 6.15pm, the local train bound for Virar at 6.24pm arrived at Borivali on platform number 4 suddenly saw people running in confusion as the first class general compartment exploded while the train halted.

A traumatised Manmadhan Nair sitting in Bhagwati hospital at Borivali West recounted the events. “My ears are still numb. There was a huge thunder-like sound; the compartment blacked-out and the rooftop blew off. All of us who could move out, ran out of the compartment.” He was returning home from work and travelling in the compartment in which the blast occurred. “I don’t know if my colleague who was sitting beside me survived. Most men standing on the gangway were hurt as many of us sitting inside ran out.”

Bhagwati hospital, with a capacity of more than 500 beds, was filling up. Those with minor injuries were constantly moved to private hospitals after some treatment. Officials at Bhagwati confirmed that the number of casualty as of 9pm on Tuesday night was 52 in Bhagwati and 37 in Karuna hospital. The number of deaths was 27, of which 25 were men and two women. Only three could be identified, Hemlata Yadav Hogade, a homeguard with the police force, Deepak Raulkar and Bhogilal Sarhotiya. “We were unable to identify the other bodies as they were badly mutilated,” said Dhananjay Junekar of Bhagwati hospital.  The second blast took place in a train before it reached the station. People were thrown out of the compartment due to the blast.

BANDRA: It was the man on the street near Bandra station who reached the spot of blasts before the administration could get its act together. Whether it was taking the injured to hospitals or carrying the bodies into ambulances, locals extended a helping hand. As trains came to a halt on the western line, the crowds spilled on to the roads. There too locals helped stranded commuters with a glass of water, tea and biscuits, especially near the Mahim Causway highway. Here, the Koli community were particularly active in distributing water to passerbys.

MATUNGA ROAD: For a few minutes, Sanjay Parab, who works with the Income Tax department and lives near Matunga Road station, did not know how to react to the situation. But he soon collected his friends to help the victims. “We saw thick smoke coming out from the first class compartment and the train grinding to a halt. Many commuters jumped out of the train in panic. Those seriously injured were rushed to nearby hospitals including Hinduja, KEM as well Sion Hospitals.

The Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad ( BDDS) came to the spot with sniffer dogs, who scoured the area including public toilets located just opposite the station. Vehicular traffic came to a halt outside the Matunga Road. Social workers and volunteers helped pedestrians use other roads and senior citizens and women passengers to cabs and other vehicles.

Sources in the police said that among the injured brought to Sion and KEM hospitals, 65 people were declared dead by 10pm. The other 66 injured were undergoing treatment at Sion and KEM hospitals. 23 were said to be serious.

MIRA ROAD: The blast took place between 6 and 6.30pm in the first-class compartment of a Virar-bound local, a few yards away from Mira Road station. The train had just left the station when the blast occurred. Both sides of the bogie were ripped open and people were thrown out due to the impact.

People performing namaaz at a masjid, near the station, rushed to rescue the victims. They made use of whatever mode of transport was available (hand-carts, vehicles) to rush people to hospitals. The injured were taken to Deepak hospital and Tunga hospital, while the dead bodies were carried to Bhakti Vedant hospital and Balaji hospital.

Eye-witnesses and rescuers said that more 200-250 people were injured and around 80-90 were killed at the blast site.

The blast also caused an overhead electric wire to break, due to which the Western train services were stopped. Out-station train services were also discontinued. Volunteers prevented people from going near the blast site as the electric wire could cause harm.

JOGESHWARI: At least seven people were killed and 42 injured when an explosion rocked the first class compartment of the Borivali-bound suburban train at Jogeshwari at 6.22pm. According to the police, at least 17 have been seriously injured in the incident. The injured have been admitted to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle.

A railway official who was at the station says, “We were carrying out our normal duties and had given the green signal to the suburban train which was scheduled to leave from the station at 6.22pm. It left the station and the first class compartment had reached the stairway which connects the east and west when he heard the deafening blast.”

“The train had gathered considerable speed and the first class bogie was dragged another 50 metres from the station. Soon after the blast we saw huge black smoke and people jumping out of the moving train. People from the neighbouring locality came out in huge numbers to help the victims,” added the official

Reporting by : Ramya Narayanan,  Rohit Bhatia, Dayanand Kamath, Ashwin Aghor, Presley Thomas. Shahkar Abidi