A loud blast. Then smoke, blood, the acrid smell of burning flesh and screams. These commuters lived to tell about 11/7.
“I’m probably the only person who has survived on compartment No. 4 (first-class). I was on the footboard when the coach blew up at Mahim. The force of the blast threw me on to the platform — that is how I survived. There was just blood everywhere.” — Chandrakant Dalvi, 50, lawyer (in Mahim)
“I had a lucky escape. I couldn’t get into the first-class compartment and had to seek a second-class seat in the Borivali Fast Train which blew up at Mahim. There were bodies lying around. This is a second life for me.”
— Rishi Mathuria, mass-media student (in Mahim)
“I was going to Kandivali and was in the first-class coach. Suddenly there was a massive blast. A ceiling fan hit my head. When I recovered, I saw just blood, bodies and severed limbs. I had lost my cellphone but there were several lying around. I tried dialling them to call my family but the phones were all dead.” — Kamlesh Shah, 54, businessman (in Bandra)