‘Second lease on life’ say survivors of deadly India train crash

Balasore, Odisha – Mohammad Afzal survived one of the worst train accidents in India’s history, but remained in a state of great fear, unable to locate his friend who was on the same bus.

Afzal, 19, goes from one hospital to another in the eastern state of Odisha, where the disaster occurred on Friday, to track down his friend Mohmmad Mazhar, also 19, who boarded the train with him.

Mazhar’s family, including his parents, uncles and aunts, from Kolkata in the neighboring state of West Bengal, nearly 200 kilometers (124.3 mi) from the scene of the accident, have launched a frantic search.

But Mazhar’s whereabouts were unknown even more than 20 hours after the three-train collision, as the death toll continued to rise.

“We got into the general compartment of the train. The bus was completely full. We had no place to sit, so we stood,” said Afzal.

“The accident happened thirty minutes after boarding the train. We felt the compartment tilt at least three times,” he added.

While he was able to pull himself out of the carriage, he couldn’t find Mazhar.

“I searched for him for at least four hours. But there was no sign of him. I won’t have peace until I find him,” he told Al Jazeera.

According to the latest update from South Eastern Railway, at least 288 people have died and more than 800 passengers have been injured.

Afzal’s aunt Amna Begum keeps hope.

“We just want to know if he’s alive. We got here right after we heard the news. It’s been almost a day, but we don’t have any news about him,” she said.

Those who survived call it their second birth. Manoranjan Malik, 42, has a broken left leg. He was pulled from the mutilated remains of the train compartment more than 12 hours after the accident.

“I remember there was a huge crackling sound. My head hit a spot and then I don’t remember anything.

“I lost consciousness. Next thing I remember someone pulled me out. When I looked at the open sky, I didn’t understand where I was,” said Malik.

“This feels like a second life,” he told Al Jazeera.

‘Followed the screams’

While several details of the accident and its cause are still unclear, officials have said three trains were involved: two express trains and one freight train.

It took place near Bahanaga Bazaar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha.

A resident of Bahanaga, who lives about 200 meters (218 yards) from the crash site, said it was all over in minutes.

“We heard a loud noise, something we had never heard before. It was gradual, not a single sound,” said Ganbhyan Behera.

“When we rushed to the scene, there was nothing to see, but we could hear screams. We followed the screams and tried to save as many people as possible,” he added.

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promised a thorough investigation even as the opposition called for his resignation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Saturday to check rescue efforts and also watched survivors in hospital.

While the rescue operation has ended and the area has been cleared of both the living and the dead, authorities have said one of the biggest challenges for the future is identifying the bodies – as well as reuniting people like Afzal with their friends and family.