Andhra Pradesh - Nalgonda   

Shocking brush with death

S. Ramu

NALGONDA: "At 4.20 a.m., it all happened within seconds," says D. Sreenivasa Rao, Assistant Driver of the ill-fated Delta Fast Passenger train.

Emergency brakes

"I was shocked to see the rails floating on water from a distance, and before I could alert driver D. Samuel, the tragedy struck us," the eyewitness to the ghastly accident told The Hindu at the district headquarters hospital on Saturday evening. Mr. Sreenivasa Rao was struggling hard to come to terms with the tragedy.

Mr. Sreenivasa Rao had full sympathy for his driver. "He applied the emergency brakes to avert the accident. Since there was a curve, he was maintaining 60 kmph speed. Had he not applied his mind, things would have been worse," he maintained.

"Within seconds, swirling waters entered the engine cabin. I could manage to float. But Samuel could not. Poor chap, he might have been washed away," Mr. Rao said, fighting back tears.

He gained all his strength and struggled for five minutes to escape the jaws of death. "It took me 15 more minutes to come out of suffocation," he added. Mr. Rao, who has five years of experience, said that they did not sense any trouble as three trains had come in the opposite direction. " We were given green signal at all stations. On seeing the approaching trains, including the Narsapur Express, we thought that everything was fine," he said.

Mr. Rao, father of a month-old baby, was feeling bad that he could not save Samuel. "I tried to catch hold of him. But the grease stored in the cabin made the floor slippery," he said.

Passengers in the three general compartments next to the engine had to bear the brunt.

Clings to fan

"I latched on to a fan to keep myself afloat," Ramesh Kumar of Arvapally in Narsaraopet in Guntur district said.

A panchayat secretary, Mr. Ramesh was on his way to Hyderabad to join a delegation that was to meet Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy seeking payment of their salaries.

"When I woke up, I was in a deluge. I struggled for 15 minutes without oxygen," said Ratnamanjari of Tenali. Ms. Ratnamanjari said that she had seen seven to eight children being washed away.

Padma of Guntur, who was travelling alone, was in deep shock. Nurses at the hospital were trying hard to bring her back to normal.

"I have never heard of passengers meeting a watery grave in bogies," Mr. Sreenivasa Rao said.

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