Twin blasts in the Bangalore-Guwahati Express at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday left one woman dead and 14 others injured. Passengers complained that there was no security in the train or at the station at the time of the blast. Following are two accounts of the blasts by a person at the station and a passenger on board the train.
“I was on platform 9, waiting for the Guwahati-Bangalore train. I was there to receive a friend. The train entered the platform around 7-20 in the morning. There was a sound. I did not pay attention. I though that something had fallen off or something caught fire. After a minute, I saw passengers running helter-skelter. Somebody was shouting that a bogey caught fire. Since train coaches catching fire is not uncommon in India and the train was stopped, I thought that the fire tenders would extinguish the fire.
Out of curiosity, I too rushed towards coach numbers S-4 and S – 5. Somebody shouted that it was a bomb blast. When I reached the coaches, I saw injured passengers. Within a few minutes, Railway staff rushed there and took injured people to the dispensary and hospitals.
Many of them also entered the coaches and tried to help the railway staff. There was a thick smoke.
Passengers were horrified and many of them were in tears. Some of them have lost their luggage. The police who rushed to the spot tried to restore order. More police came by 8:15 am.
The security is lax. The checking is not foolproof. I am now scared. Instead of taking a train, I will now take a bus to Bangalore.”
Devika, Passenger, Chennai
“I was in the AC coach next to the sleeper coaches. We too heard the sound of blasts. But, we thought that it was some minor accident. For us, it took almost 10 minutes to realize that it was a blast. I was horrified. I jumped out of my coach with luggage fearing more blasts. There was a huge crowd on the platform and I lost my bag. But, nobody is helping me. I have complained to the Railway authorities, police and other volunteers. I am trying to meet the Railways Minister. We are worried about security arrangements.”
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/chennai-central-railway-station-blasts-first-person-accounts/468798-62-128.html