Missing younger sister of three-year-old Samruddhi Nagte, whose mother died in the derailment, has been rescued; however, doctors had to amputate Samruddhi’s injured left leg
A day after Sunday’s Diva-Sawantwadi express train derailment, the accident victims are still grappling to come to terms with the tragedy and its effects.
Samruddhi’s father Jayram Nagte has not been told of his wife’s demise, or his daughter’s amputation, as his mental health is fragile
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For the Nagte family, Monday was a mixed bag. Samruddhi Nagte (3), who lost her mother Surekha in the accident (‘For 3-yr-old, derailment disintegrates family’) underwent a surgery in the civic-run Sion Hospital on Monday evening to get her left leg amputated. Her condition is critical.
Glad tidings were also in store for the family. News reached them that Samruddhi’s younger sister, who is two years old, was rescued late on Sunday night and was recuperating at the KEM Hospital in Parel. Her youngest sister, who is only three months old, is still in Roha Civil Hospital.
“We were afraid the second child was missing. Luckily, she was rescued and sent to civil hospital, from where she was shifted to KEM. Relatives are taking care of both girls in the two hospitals,” said Deepak Khot, a family friend.
“However, Samruddhi’s left leg had sustained severe injuries and doctors informed us that the blood supply to her lower limb was cut off,” he added. Doctors advised Samruddhi’s kin to avoid breaking the news of her amputation or of his wife’s death to her father Jayram, due to his fragile mental health. Jayram, a Panvel resident, is recuperating from minor head and limb injuries at Sion Hospital.
Doctors at Sion Hospital there also reattached the hands of Ravindra Sawant (30), who sustained injuries on his hands, right leg and back. “His hands have been reattached. His tendons and arteries had ruptured. He is in the trauma care unit,” said Dr Suleman Merchant, acting dean, Sion Hospital.
Saved by villagers
Deepak Gavai (40) is still reliving the horrors of the accident that left him with an injured arm. “I almost fainted seeing the tragedy unfolding around me, but locals immediately rushed to our help and stopped a tempo that was carrying ice slabs. They emptied the tempo and put me and a few more people in it, after which we were rushed to the Roha civil hospital,” added Gavai. The Ulhasnagar resident, a truck driver, was headed to Rajapur for work.
Lucky escape
The Sangaves are thanking their stars that though both of them suffered injuries, their one-year-old son escaped harm. The father, Pradeep, sustained fractures on his arms.
“We were heading to Chiplun from Diva for my brother’s wedding when our coach derailed. My husband’s arms were injured, but he managed to climb out of the compartment along with our baby,” said Prerna. Due to his injuries, however, Pradeep wasn’t able to hold the baby for long while simultaneously trying to help his wife out of the coach.
“He then handed our baby to a stranger, but my saree was badly tangled and I had to remove it completely before managing to step out. Rescue operations had begun by then,” she added. While the Sangaves were paranoid for the next few minutes as they couldn’t find their son, the kind stranger soon returned the child to the distraught couple.
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