Shiny bangles, perhaps newly bought on Delhi streets, and bagfuls of Indian paan ke patte, much in demand in Pakistan. These lay in a burning heap inside the two unreserved bogies of the Attari Special which were ripped apart by twin blasts at 11.55 pm last night near Panipat.

Most of the bodies hadn’t been identified till late in the evening, though many of the dead are expected to be Pakistani nationals on their way back after a visit to India.

“The train was travelling at almost 100 km per hour, and though brakes were applied when the fire was first detected, it could stop only 2 km later. In the fifth bogey, the doors jammed, and no one could escape till we cut open the doors around 2.30 am. Most of the casualties are from this bogey,” SP, Railway Protection Force, Ambala, Bharti Arora told The Indian Express at the site.

“We stood helpless watching people burning. They were crying out for help. There is a pond nearby but it was of little help,” says Mangat Ram, one of the first villagers to reach the spot.

Shabana Mohammad, a 35-year-old resident of Karachi, remembers waking up to a deafening sound. A mother of three, she was sleeping with two of her children in bogey number 10 when, rattled by the sound, she opened her eyes to see flames leaping out of the compartment ahead of her.

“I thought it was the end,” sobs Shabana, sitting at the Attari Station, holding her children Munaaz, Jhalak and Missaeb close. As people started running around and smoke filled the bogey, she gathered her children and ran barefeet towards the door, only to realise that it was locked and the windows jammed. “The moment the train started slowing down, people began to jump off.” Her husband Shyam Mohammad hurt his legs in the process.

... contd.