Bangalore: "There was a vigorous jerk and initially there was a varied reaction including people saying it could be due to sudden breaking of the train. It was extremely dark and around 12.35 am (IST) in a remote village area along a railway track and only gradually we got to know about the intensity of the mishap," Jayanthi Raghu, a passenger in the AC compartment of the ill-fated Kacheguda-Bangalore express train (train no. 7685) that derailed near Gooty in Kurnool re-counted to Indiainfo.com.

"The Railway officials tried their best to keep us calm by telling us that there would be a delay of three to four hours. They told us that one bogie had derailed, the cranes would set everything right and we would proceed by the same train. We were asked to stay inside the compartment as it was not safe to venture out and only around quarter to six, we were told that we would travel by another train to Guntakal and proceed to Bangalore from there," she recalled with a sense of shock and relief as she arrived in Bangalore.

"One passenger had a cell phone, I had to walk almost three to four kilometres to get the signal and inform my husband. The Railway authorities and the telephone department had managed to make arrangements for telephones, but we had to walk some distance to reach that. When I came, I got a bigger shock as I found my eight-year- old daughter sitting all alone in the compartment," she said.

"I think it was but natural for all the co-passengers of my compartment to look after their own belongings and their interest of rushing to the relief train to get out of the gory scene. Though I knew something major had happened, I realised the seriousness of the situation as I walked with difficulty to the spot. The place had been cordoned off to prevent people from rushing to the spot. The police, press and railway personnel were already there," she recollected.

"There were 24 coaches in the train, whereas the relief unit had only 12 bogies and that really explained the grimness of the situation. While we were asked to stay put, there was a constant demand for bed sheets and whatever other material that we could spare for the relief work. There was also a constant call for doctors. My co- passengers were very helpful to the extent that they gave away all they could to help the distressed," she added.