Attari (Amritsar): The doors of the two bogies of the Samjhauta Express that erupted in flames near Panipat got jammed and passengers were trapped inside, say eyewitnesses.
"We pulled the stop chain and the train came to a halt after a few minutes. We rushed towards the burning coaches to save the passengers. They tried to unlock the doors, which were badly jammed, and by the time they were broken, many were burnt to death," Usman Alai, a resident of Lahore was quoted by PTI.
Alai was among 527 passengers ferried to Lahore on a link train from Attari on Sunday.
Mohammad Ishwat Hussian tried to open the doors, for "those inside were crying for help. But, we could not be of any use to them," he rues, while Sabia Abbas says "I saw the passengers trying to jump out of the windows as the doors were not opening," A passenger, who had a narrow escape, adds, "we broke open the emergency window to let in fresh air and jumped out when the train slowed down considerably".
With two of its bogies set ablaze by bomb explosions, the Samjhauta Express barreled as screams of trapped passengers filled the horrendous night on Sunday.
'They were screaming inside, but no one could get out,'' said Rajinder Prasad, 49, one of many villagers who tried to rescue those trapped behind barred windows and at least one door fused shut by the heat.
The villagers scooped water from a reservoir and threw it at flames that shot high above the carriages. They tried to open a door, but the intense heat forced them back. ''We couldn't save anyone,'' Prasad said.
Officials on both sides of the border said the attack was an attempt to derail the peace process and pledged to press on with talks scheduled for Tuesday between the countries' foreign ministers.
With agencies inputs
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