Twitter
Advertisement

‘I jumped out of train immediately’

Rainer Nair, DNA correspondent: I was in a Borivali slow. It stopped at Bandra and the Churchgate Borivali local had just gone ahead of the platform when the bomb exploded.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Rainer Nair, DNA correspondent: I was in a Borivali slow. It stopped at Bandra and the Churchgate Borivali local had just gone ahead of the platform when the bomb exploded. I felt the blast under my feet. The sound was strong but muffled. Smoke poured out of train. Hundreds of people gathered on the platform and started helping. The officials took longer to arrive. Slum dwellers were the most helpful, as they carried and escorted victims to safety. A few bodies lay lifeless on the tracks and others were carried on stretchers. The injured were dazed. I asked a man with bleeding hands what he had seen but he could just nod his head as he walked towards medical aid.

Vickey Solanki, Borivali resident, boarded the train at Bandra and was about to get a seat for himself when the train shook and the blast injured him slightly. He commented on the apathy of police, “Arre yeh police log wahan jaatey kyun nahin?”

N N Gupta, a policeman present said they had had no prior warning about the blasts. A senior policemen commented, “Yeh sab ke liye kaun dekhta hai?”

Narendrabhai, 50 was being escorted out of the station by a college student. An accountant with an export firm in Wadala,  he lived in Borivali. Narendrabhai was in the first class compartment that blew up. He was among a handful of the survivors who had stood on the footboard near the doorway and escaped with minor injuries. His face was swollen, there were cuts and other visible bruises. But he was shaken, not stirred. He talked about the impact and the wreckage. When he got off the train and looked back, his compartment was full of fire, smoke and limp bodies.

The police seemed as shocked as the victims. Helpful passers-by helped them to pick up the debris. Among them, were a few fingers.

Darwesh was identified because one of his colleagues, Moin Ansari was in the second-class compartment of the same train. “I jumped out of the train almost immediately. He was in the compartment just ahead of me. I rushed there, only to see his body lying in a pool of blood,” said a shocked Ansari, still coming to terms with the tragedy.

Himesh Shah, 33, businessman, Mira Road

I was in my office in Mira Road when I heard about the bomb blast around 6.25 pm. My colleagues and I went to the site to help. The blast occurred in the first class compartment of the train between Mira Road and Bhayander. The people who had got seats were all dead. Those who stood at the doors had jumped out and been injured.

I helped to clear the dead bodies from the compartments till around 7.30 pm, when it became pitch dark. Volunteers worked in the dark as long as they could.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement