Balasore train disaster: Locals stepped up in rescue-and-relief work

With his mother by his side at the Balasore district hospital, 20-year-old Subhranshu Behera was recounting the Friday evening horror and how prompt assistance from the locals gave him a new lease of life.

Accompanied by his uncle, Behera had boarded the Shalimar-MGR Chennai Central Coromandel Express that left Balasore station at 6.39 pm, two minutes late from its scheduled departure. Ten minutes later, he called his mother to inform her that he had boarded the coach meant for the specially-abled because the general compartment was overcrowded.