Chhattisgarh: A tragic train accident near Bilaspur station in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday claimed 11 lives and left around 20 others injured after a local passenger train rammed into a stationary goods train. The collision, described as devastating, was so intense that one of the passenger coaches landed on top of a wagon of the goods train.
The incident occurred around 4 p.m. when the MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) train, travelling from Gevra in Korba district to Bilaspur, crashed into the goods train from behind. According to a railway official, the impact caused severe damage to several coaches. Among those killed was the train’s loco pilot, while his assistant a woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital.
Survivor Describes The Chaos And Fear That Followed The Deadly Crash
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Sanjeev Vishwakarma, 35, a passenger on the Gevra Road Bilaspur train, recalled that just moments before the crash, he was casually scrolling through his phone while others around him were chatting or resting. Within seconds, calm turned to chaos the sound of metal grinding, windows shattering, and people screaming filled the air.
“Barely 500 metres after leaving Gatora, the train suddenly jolted and slammed into something with a deafening noise,” said Vishwakarma, a resident of Bilha in Bilaspur, as he lay injured on a hospital bed. “There was a loud bang, people started shouting, and then everything went pitch dark.”
Returning home from his in laws’ place in Akaltara, Vishwakarma had been seated in the first coach, where about 16 to 17 passengers including men, women, and children were travelling. When he regained consciousness after the crash, he found himself trapped beneath a seat.
“Our coach had climbed over the goods train. People were crying for help,” he recounted. “I saw bodies right in front of me three people, including a woman, didn’t survive. Their faces still flash before my eyes.”
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‘One Second We Were Laughing, The Next We Were Screaming’: Survivor Recalls The Deadly Crash
“Thrown to the floor it all happened in seconds” that’s how Mohan Sharma, a passenger from Raipur, described the terrifying moments of the Chhattisgarh train crash. Sharma, a marketing professional, had boarded the MEMU train from Champa, hoping to save some time on his journey to Raipur.
“I initially thought of taking the Link Express but later changed my mind and boarded the MEMU instead,” he said. Moments before the collision, Sharma was scrolling through his phone when a sudden, violent jolt threw him to the floor. “My phone flew out of my hands. When I looked outside, I saw the first coach lying on top of the goods train. My right leg was trapped, and I couldn’t move. Railway staff eventually pulled me out and rushed me to the hospital. It all happened so fast,” he recounted, adding that a slight reduction in the train’s speed might have saved several lives.
Among those in the first coach was 19 year old Mehbish Parveen, a second-year BSc Mathematics student. She was returning to college after attending a family wedding in Janjgir- Champa district. “It was supposed to be a happy journey back,” she said softly. “Then the crash happened. My leg broke, and all I could hear were screams people crying for help everywhere. I’ll never forget that sound.”
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