Odisha train crash: Father's unwavering hope helps find son alive in morgue

Biswajit, despite being in pain, managed to answer the call with a feeble voice, conveying that he was still alive but suffering greatly.

In a heartwarming tale of unwavering hope and relentless determination, a father's refusal to accept his son's demise in the Odisha train accident led to a miraculous reunion that defied all odds. The extraordinary journey of this father unfolded as he embarked on a 230-kilometre quest to Balasore, ultimately bringing his son back home safely to Kolkata, TOI reported.

The family drove Biswajit to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for further treatment.(REUTERS)

In a devastating incident that unfolded in the Balasore district on Friday, a triple train crash involving two express trains and a goods train claimed at least 275 lives and left over 1100 others wounded. Among the victims was Biswajit Malik, a twenty-four-year-old passenger who had boarded the ill-fated Coromandel Express.

Helaram Malik, a shopkeeper from Howrah, received distressing news about the catastrophic train collision in Odisha just hours after dropping off his son, Biswajit, at Shalimar station to board the Coromandel Express. Swiftly reacting to the information, Helaram immediately reached out to his 24-year-old son on his cellphone.

Biswajit, despite being in pain, managed to answer the call with a feeble voice, conveying that he was still alive but suffering greatly.

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Without wasting a single moment, Helaram sprung into action. Realizing the urgency of the situation, he contacted Palash Pandit, a local ambulance driver, and made the decision to embark on a 230 km journey to the crash site in Balasore, Odisha. Accompanied by his brother-in-law, Dipak Das, Helaram arrived in Balasore late into the night on Friday.

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However, despite inquiring at all the hospitals in the vicinity where train crash victims were being treated, Helaram could not find his son.

“We never gave up,” Das told TOI. “We went around asking people, hoping to get leads on where to go next. One person told us that if we could not find anyone in hospital, we should look at the Bahanaga high school, where the bodies were kept. We could not accept it, but went anyway.”

At the makeshift morgue, an unexpected disturbance erupted within the sombre atmosphere, with the right hand of an accident victim, presumed dead, trembling uncontrollably. The man was none other than Biswajit. The 24-year-old was unconscious and had suffered serious injuries in the crash. His father and uncle immediately put him in the ambulance and drove him to Balasore hospital, where he received treatment.

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“Given his condition, they referred him to Cuttack Medical College Hospital, but we signed a bond and got him discharged,” said Das.

The family then drove Biswajit to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for further treatment. His condition is critical but stable, and he has undergone surgery on his ankle with further surgeries expected to take place today.