Hyderabad: K.M.V. Satyanarayana, the driver of the Secunderabad-Nanded passenger train that collided with the school bus on Thursday, said that there was barely a distance of 50 metres when the bus suddenly appeared in front of the train and he applied the emergency brakes.
However, the collision took place within seconds as the train was travelling at 90 kmph. The driver and attendant were rendered unconscious upon impact and were later assaulted by locals. The duo has been kept under tight security in the ICU at the Lalaguda Railway Hospital.
Applying the emergency brakes might also have caused the train to derail, which could have resulted in a bigger accident.
“Sometimes, applying the emergency brakes can lead to derailment. I saw the bus just seconds before the collision. I had sounded the mandatory whistle from a kilometre before the level crossing and the bus still tried to cross the tracks. I hit the brakes when the speed was 90 kmph but the train doesn’t stop immediately. The bus was barely 50 metres away and the train needs a minimum of 400 metres to stop after applying brakes. I fell unconscious due to the impact,” said the driver, who is now recovering from injuries received from stones thrown at him.
He added that he doesn’t remember much after the collision until locals and angry parents attacked him and his assistant. He was shifted to the hospital on Thursday evening. The drivers’ assistant, meanwhile, did not see the school bus at all. “It wasn’t visible to me from my position,” said Koteshwar Rao, who suffered minor injuries due to the stone pelting.
