A deafening sound and screams before it turned dark: Survivors recall dreadful train collision
Bilaspur (PTI): Moments before the collision, Sanjeev Vishwakarma (35), a passenger of Gevra Road-Bilaspur train, was scrolling through his phone, while some passengers were busy chatting, and some were dozing off, unaware that within seconds, their journey would turn into a nightmare.
Around 4 pm, the MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) passenger train rammed into a goods train from behind near Bilaspur station, leaving its first coach (engine assembled coach) climbing onto the cargo wagon with a thunderous jolt.
Metal screeched, windows shattered and panic swept through the compartments.
At least eight persons, including the loco pilot, were killed and 14 others, including the female assistant loco pilot, injured in the accident between Gatora and Bilaspur railway stations on Howrah-Mumbai rail route section.
For Vishwakarma, a resident of Bilha (Bilaspur), what began as a routine return trip from his in-laws' house in Akaltara ended in chaos and screams.
He is a vehicle driver.
"I was sitting in the first coach. There were about 16-17 of passengers, including men, women, and children. Suddenly, around 500 metres after leaving Gatora, the train shook violently and crashed into something. There was a thunderous sound followed by people's screams...Then everything went dark," he recalled.
"When I opened my eyes, I was pinned under the seat. People were crying for help. My coach had climbed onto the goods train. I saw bodies right in front of me. Three people, including a woman, died. Their faces still haunt me," he said, lying on his hospital bed.
Mohan Sharma, a marketing professional from Raipur, had boarded the train from Champa (in neighbouring Janjgir-Champa district).
"I had planned to go to Raipur by Link Express train, but the train was late so I thought I would save time by taking this (MEMU) train. Although I de-boarded this train, thinking of once again taking the Link Express but again boarded the same," he said.
"I was using my mobile phone when there was a violent jerk, the next thing I knew, I was thrown to the floor. My phone flew away," he said.
"When I looked out, I saw the first coach resting on the goods train's wagon. My right leg was trapped, I couldn't move it. Railway staff pulled me out and rushed me for treatment. It all happened in seconds," he said.
Had the train slowed down even a little, those people would have been alive, he added.
Mehbish Parveen (19), a second-year BSc Mathematics student at D P Vipra College Bilaspur, was returning to Bilaspur from her home Naila in neighbouring Janjgir-Champa district after attending a family wedding.
"I was travelling in the first coach. It was supposed to be a happy journey back. Then came the crash. My leg broke. I can't forget the screams as everyone was shouting for help," she said.
Geeta Dev Nath (30), an advocate from Bilaspur, said she was in the first coach.
"The impact was so strong that my leg got trapped. I couldn't move. Rescuers pulled me out after several minutes. I had gone to Akaltara for court work. I never imagined I would return like this," she said.
All four of them are currently admitted at Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) Bilaspur.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
