A man, who was injured in the derailment of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express on January 13, was reunited with his family on January 14 with the help of loudspeakers at a local mosque which are used for namaz, a PTI report said.
Safikul Ali from Dhula in Darrang district of Assam was among the many passengers of the ill-fated Bikaner-Guwahati Express train that derailed on January 13 evening.
Having narrowly escaped the accident that claimed nine lives, Ali was undergoing treatment at the Super Specialty Hospital at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, where railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the injured on January 14.
“While enquiring about Ali’s wellbeing, the minister learnt that he was unable to contact his family (in Assam) as neither does he nor his family members had a mobile phone,” an unnamed Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official was quoted as saying by PTI.
Ali said he had the phone number of a neighbour, and Vaishnaw immediately got him connected with that person, the official said.
But, the neighbour could not find Ali’s family at their home in Assam, nor did a postman arranged by the minister could track them down, he added.
After efforts to contact the family failed, an announcement was made from the village mosque through the loudspeakers used for namaz, the official said.
Following this, the family learnt about Ali’s condition and got in touch with the railway authorities.
Ali’s elder brother is now on the way to Jalpaiguri, he added.
At least nine people were killed and 36 others injured when 12 coaches of the train derailed near Domohani in Jalpaiguri district on January 13.
