Anekal, Bengaluru February 13: Sethu Govindan, an RSS cadre and a software engineer of Bengaluru was on his way to meet his family relatives of Pandalam in Kerala. He was travelling in Ernakulam-bound Bengaluru City-Ernakulam Intercity Express (Train no. 12677) on Friday morning.
Unfortunately, the train got derailed near Anekal, the outskirts of Bengaluru. 10 passengers were dead and hundreds injured in the accident.
Including Sethu Govindan, several passengers rushed in for rescue. Sethu informed local RSS cadres, they arrived in immediate minutes to the derailed area, joined their shoulders for the immediate rescue operation.
The accident has been reported at Belagondapalli near Anekal town on the city’s outskirts around 7.35 a.m. Railway sources said that nine coaches derailed causing the accident. A senior railway official said, “Initial reports suggest a boulder may have fallen on the track.”
Eight bogies of the train derailed after it struck a boulder that, according to railway officials, accidentally rolled onto the track in a mountainous section of the Salem line of the South Western Railway between the Anekal Road and Hosur railway stations on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.
Local RSS Swayamsevaks stepped in for immediate rescue operation. More than 50 Swayamsevaks donated blood for the needy. RSS Swayamsevaks helped local Police, Govt officials for the rescue operation.
RSS Pranth Sanghachalak M Venkataram expressed deep condolences to those who died in the railway accident.
Railway sources said that the three bodies have been removed from the coach and are yet to be identified. According to railway sources, D-7 and D-8 general compartment coaches are the worst affected and initial investigations reveal that the train may have come to an abrupt halt that has led to derailment of nine coaches.
Most passengers on the Bangalore-Ernakulam Inter-City Express were traveling to places in Kerala while a few were on their way to destinations like Salem in Tamil Nadu.
The eight coaches of Train No.12677 Bengaluru–Ernakulam Inter-City train that derailed were identified as D-8, D-9, D-10, D-11, two AC Chair Cars and two unreserved coaches.
“Unfortunate rail accident in Karnataka, Boulder fell on track in Ghat section, train hit it. directed all sr officers to rush with full help,” the railway minister Suresh prabhu tweeted . Additional commissioner of police for railways R P Sharma said that nine persons were among the dead. Rescue operations were still on and the toll could increase, the police official said.
Four of the dead persons have so far been identified as Etira Antony (57), Aman (9), Irsha Manaf (24) and K R George (70). A total of 42 persons have been reported injured including 17 who are in a critical condition.
Heavy equipment are being summoned from Erode to remove the mangled remains on Anekal road and Hosur line of the Bengaluru-Salem section. The accident site is about 15 km from Tamil Nadu border.
Ernakulam Area Manager of Southern Railway Rajesh Chandran said that the names and addresses of the victims are yet to be ascertained.
