MUMBAI: The rush-hour explosion in a Virar-bound local train at Borivali station in Mumbai on Tuesday evening claimed at least 27 lives and seriously injured 39 others.

The blast occurred around 6.25 p.m. in the forward First Class men's compartment of the train, as it pulled into platform 4 at Borivali, located in a populous north-western suburb of the metropolis.

The roof and the west-facing side of the bogey were ripped apart by the explosion, as if it had been punctured with a giant can-opener, indicating that the explosive device had been placed on the rack on that side of the compartment, said Railway Police Sub-Inspector Sudheer Agnihotri, who was at his outpost on Platform No 1.

A hotel employee, Man Mohan Nayer, had boarded that compartment at Mumbai Central to reach Virar. He said that most of the dead were in the middle of the compartment. Those standing in the aisle suffered serious injuries but Mr. Nayer escaped, as he was sitting on the seven-seater bench at one end of the compartment. But his colleague, Ravindra Balihari, was not so lucky and is lying dead in Bhagwati Municipal Hospital at Borivali.

Powerful blast

A porter, Surendra Chauhan, said that the train was moving when it exploded. The blast was so powerful that the debris of the west side of the compartment landed on the adjacent Platform No 3, across the track, taking a number of foot-board passengers with it.

Another train, which was to terminate at Borivali, was pulling into Platform No 3, somewhat behind the ill-fated one. But its motorman saw the blast and stopped in his tracks. Had this train arrived on the side, the casualties would have been far higher, said Mr. Chauhan and his colleagues.

Ms. Lalita Patel, a home guard, was in the adjacent First Class women's compartment. She saw people falling on the platform even as she heard a great boom. Sukumar and Arun, working at a food stall on the platform, felt the wooden structure of the stall vibrating as if it were an earthquake. Avadhesh Kumar, a cashier at the neighbouring food stall, said that he thought that it was an LPG cylinder blast in a stall but realised that it was a train explosion when he saw frightened and injured passengers leaping off the train.

The scene at Bhagwati Hospital, where the dead and injured were brought in swiftly by volunteers, police and fire brigade personnel, was one of chaos, confusion, anxiety, anguish and grief. A list containing 40 names was displayed on a notice board, but it did not say if these were people were injured or deceased. Anxious friends and relatives had a trying time while ascertaining the fate of their dear ones. Hospital staff and volunteers were more engaged in taking care of the injured rather than guiding the unfortunate. The communication gap was yawning.

Most of the critically injured were shifted to a nearby private hospital, Karuna, said a doctor. A number of good samaritans brought in non-medical supplies such as water bottles, biscuits, bedsheets, masks and gloves.

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