Bangalore: For trapped and shocked passengers in the derailed compartments of the Mysore- Bangalore train, it was the fellow travellers in other bogies who turned out to be good samaritans.

Fellow passengers were the first to come rushing to their aid and lend a helping hand to pull them out, many of whom were seriously injured. Villagers of Palahalli subsequently joined them to do their bit.

A Railway official said on a normal day, some 150 passengers travel in each bogie of the passenger train, mostly frequented by office-goers and teachers. Given the gravity of the mishap, the toll should have been higher, but fortunately it was not so, he felt.

Many said they could survive only because of the blessings of the Almighty and were seen engaged in prayers.

Passengers had a common grouse: help from Railways and police came much later.

There were heart-wrenching scenes at the site. As one witness Nanjappa recalled, a woman kept calling her children, worry writ large on her face, before succumbing to her injuries seconds later.

Three of the four who lost their lives were teachers.

Weird as it may sound, four of the derailed bogies ran for 200 metres after being derailed, an eyewitness account corroborated by South Western Railway's Additional Divisional Manager, Vijay Agrawal.

Four bogies fell 10 feet down and got stuck in marshy land between the tracks and paddy fields, while the fifth just about derailed and did not overturn.

PTI