[1]Though some passengers from Tamil Nadu had a miraculous escape from the burning train, they were still inconsolable or worried about ‘missing’ family/friends.
Ms N.S. Veena, 30, going to her native city Madurai to attend a function, survived along with her year-old son Koushik, but was weeping inconsolably in the hospital bed at D.S.R. government hospital here as her husband Venkatesh Babu and 3-year-old son Harshith are missing.
She suffered burns while searching for them with Koushik on her shoulder. Co-passengers Elangovan, Yuvaraj and his wife Priya of Guindy, Chennai, not only helped her to alight but also joined her in the hospital and took care of Koushik till her relatives arrived from Madurai in the evening. Ms Veena was seen asking everyone who approached her for details whether they had seen her husband and child.
A resident of Kolathur, in Chennai, Ms D. Rekha and her nephew Anil, sleeping in berth No 5 and 8 in S-11, had a narrow escape. Anil said he noticed smoke all around the compartment when he woke up due to breathlessness and jumped out through S-10 compartment. He returned with the help of a passenger, who had a torch, when he heard Ms Rekha shouting for help, and rescued her though not before she suffered burns.
Mr P. Koteswar Rao, working in HCL, Chennai, had boarded the train at Vijayawada, and also suffered burn injuries.
A.Hussiani, a cooperative sub-registrar at Tenkasi, suffered burns while rushing out. He is worried about his missing colleague Jagannathan working in Sankarankovil, Tirunelveli. “We went for training to Delhi and were returning home,” he explained.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/train25jpgcropdisplayjpg-515