Crash: 'God saved us'
The Citizen|June 19, 2024
Drivers were watching cricket on a phone, according to railways ministry.
Crash: 'God saved us'

Survivors of an Indian double train crash that killed nine people yesterday described their terror when a driver missed a signal and rammed a goods train into a passenger express.

The force of the crash on Monday was so strong that one carriage was initially thrust high into the air, precariously balanced on another.

Heavy goods carriages were flung off the tracks, lying high in tumbled piles.

"I did not feel like I was going to survive," said one passenger, Arti Roy, who lost her belongings when the carriages crumpled, twisted and then flipped off the rails.

The incident in West Bengal state is the latest to hit India's creaking rail network, which carries millions of passengers each day and the most recent reported failure of drivers missing basic signals.

Jahangir Alam, 35, who lives near the crash site in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district, rushed to offer his help.

He said the sight of the wrecked trains terrified him.

This story is from the June 19, 2024 edition of The Citizen.

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This story is from the June 19, 2024 edition of The Citizen.

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