‘Suddenly, I saw a hand’: Bengal man finds ‘dead’ son, 24, alive after Odisha train accident

Kolkata: Howrah resident Hellaram Mallick traveled 235 km to Balasore to retrieve his son alive from the makeshift morgue where he was kept along with the bodies of those killed in the triple train accident. After taking his 24-year-old son Biswajit out of the Bahanaga High School morgue, Hellaram rushed him to Balasore Hospital before bringing him to Kolkata’s SSKM Hospital. Vishwajit, who suffered multiple injuries to the bones of his hands and feet, underwent two surgeries at the trauma care unit of SSKM Hospital here.

“I saw the news on TV and then realized that I should call Biswajit to find out if he was okay. He didn’t pick up the call initially and then when he did, I got a weak voice from the other end I could hear it,” said Hellaram, a grocery store owner in Howrah.

The same night (June 2) he and his brother-in-law Deepak Das left for Balasore in an ambulance.

“We could not locate him as calls to his mobile went unanswered. We visited various hospitals but Biswajeet was nowhere to be found. We then went to a makeshift mortuary at Bahanaga High School, but were initially denied entry. There was a brawl between some people followed by a ruckus. Suddenly, I saw a hand and I came to know that it belonged to my son. He was alive,” said Helaram.

Without wasting a moment, Hellaram took his “almost unresponsive” son to Balasore Hospital where he was given some injections and then referred to the Cuttack Medical College and Hospital.

“He had multiple fractures in his limbs and could not speak anything. I signed a bond there and brought Biswajit to the trauma care unit of SSKM Hospital on Monday morning,” he added.

When asked why people thought he was “dead”, a doctor at SSKM Hospital said that Biswajit must have gone into ‘suspended animation’ – a state of slowing down of biological functions – leading people to think he was dead.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met Vishwajeet and the injured undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital.

“I want to thank God for giving me my son back. I cannot explain what was going through my mind when I heard that Biswajeet was dead. I was not ready to believe that he is no longer Is not there and kept looking for him. Hilaram said.

“I feel I have got a new life,” Biswajit told PTI from the hospital bed. I am indebted to my father. He is God to me and because of him I have got this life again. Baba is everything for me.

The Coromandel Express, in which Vishwajit was traveling, collided with a stationary goods train at 7 pm on 2 June, derailing most of its coaches. at the same time. A goods train was also hit in the accident.

Investigators are probing possible human error, signal failure and other possible causes behind the three-train accident. Altogether 288 people died and more than 1200 were injured in this tragic incident.

People of Odisha saved over 1,000 lives in Balasore train accident: CM Naveen Patnaik

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday claimed that the people of the state have saved over 1,000 lives in the Balasore train accident as they swung into action immediately after the accident. People assisting in rescue operations and long queues for blood donations are a “rare but priceless sight”. He was speaking at a function where 1,205 medical officers joined the state government.

After observing a minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the accident, Patnaik said the efforts of the local people reflected the compassion and humanity of the people of Odisha.

“Doctors, medical students, general public, and everyone had only one thing in mind – let’s save as many lives as possible. And we have saved more than a thousand lives. People assisting in rescue operations and donating blood There are long queues. Sight-seeing is rare but priceless. I am proud of my people. I am proud of Odisha,” the chief minister said.

Recalling the train accident, the CM said that everyone is aware of the tragedy in Balasore which shook the country and even the world.

“It is a time of great sadness and grief. But, this accident has proved Odisha’s strength, its ability to rise to the occasion in times of crisis,” he said.