'God gave us a second life': Three members from same family escape death in Odisha train accident

As horrific cases of death and injury emerge from one of the worst train accidents that occurred in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday night, a family of three survived the mishap and safely returned to their homes in West Bengal. Shubroto Pal, Deboshree Pal and their son had a brush with death after a Coromandel Express and a Bengaluru-Howrah Express collided with a goods train near Bahanagar station in Odisha. The family is a resident of Mahisadal, Purba Medinipur in West Bengal. The duo was taking their son to Chennai for a doctor’s appointment. “We left for Chennai from Kharagpur station yesterday. After Balasore station, the train felt a jolt. Then we saw the compartment filling with smoke. I could not see anyone. The local people came to my aid & they pulled me out of the wreckage. It is like god has given me a second life,” Shubproto told ANI.

#WATCH | A family of three, who was travelling in one of the trains that were involved in #BalasoreTrainAccident, survived the accident & returned to their home in Malubasan village in Mahisadal, Purba Medinipur of West Bengal.

Subroto Pal, one of them, says, "We left for… pic.twitter.com/ZbYSVgRIwZ

— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023

Meanwhile, his wife Deboshree says that she has been traumatised by what she witnessed at the accident site. She recalled, “We were going to Chennai to see a doctor for our child. The accident happened at Balasore. We were not able to understand anything or find anyone. People were getting rammed over each other. We were not able to find our son. We don’t know how we survived. It is like a second life for us. These scenes will never go off my mind.” The death toll stands at 261 people while over 1,000 remain gravely injured. The train crash, one of the deadliest in the country, took place in Balasore district about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way to Odisha to review the situation personally. A South Eastern Railway official on Saturday informed that the rescue operations at the site have been completed. “The number of casualties in Friday’s railway accident has increased to 261. Another 650 injured passengers are being treated at various hospitals in Odisha,” SER spokesperson Aditya Chowdhury said. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook_,_  Twitter and  Instagram_._