The Odisha train accident, which killed over 280 people and was India’s worst train tragedy in the last two decades, has many heartbreaking stories. In one such case, a 35-year-old man awoke among the bodies and sought help, despite the fact that he was presumed dead.
After the collision of three trains near Odisha’s Balasore, 35-year-old Robin Naiya was presumed dead as he lay on the tracks. According to an India Today report, Naiya was among hundreds of bodies kept in a room at Balasore’s school by rescue workers.
When one of the rescue workers entered the room to move the bodies, he felt someone clutching his leg. “I am alive, not dead,” someone said, “please give me water.” When the rescue workers noticed Naiya struggling to move, they rushed him to the hospital.
In the accident, Naiya, a resident of Charnekhali village in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, lost both legs. He was one of eight people from his village who took the Coromandel Express from Howrah to Andhra Pradesh to look for work.
Naiya, who is still in critical condition, is being treated at the Orthopedic Ward of Medinipur Medical College Hospital in West Bengal.
“Robin, my nephew, was traveling to Andhra to work as a migrant laborer,” Naiya’s uncle Manabendra Sardar told reports.
He further added that “he lost consciousness when the train collided. He found himself in the midst of a heap of bodies. He was discovered while holding one of the rescuer’s legs and asking for water. Robin then requested water and begged him to save his life. The rescuers then transported him to a nearby hospital.”