Hyderabad: The loco pilot of the MMTS train (47178), D. Chandra Shekar, who was stuck in the cabin for close to eight hours, was rescued by teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Disaster Response Force (DRF) of the GHMC. The pilot suffered a fracture to his leg and several injuries to other body parts.
Mr Shekhar, 36 years old, a resident of Kacheguda, was stuck in the cabin when the MMTS he was piloting had a head-on collision with the Hundry Intercity-Express (17028) at Kacheguda railway station interchange on Monday morning. He was on the driver’s seat at the point of impact and got stuck.
After the mishap, NDRF and DRF teams were put into action, and supported by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials. Initially, their challenge was to locate the position of pilot, who was stuck in the cabin.
It proved tough for rescue teams as the cabin bore the weight of the express train’s engine, and the cabin was almost crushed.
They got lucky and were able to pinpoint the pilot’s position, when he expressed his physical pain and agony with screams and grunts; stuck in a crushed cabin.
Medical staff of the Kacheguda railway hospital supplied oxygen to him throughout the rescue operation with the help of a pipe. They also
tried to administer saline, but they could not find his hands or a vein. They instead injected decadron, a corticosteroid medication through his thighs. The teams kept communicating with Mr Shekar and asked him about his condition even as they continued the rescue operation. After cutting some metal sheets using cold cutters, he was administered saline.
A male nurse, who was closely monitoring Mr Shekar’s health condition, said, “Initially, we could not find a way to administer saline. But, after cutting through the door and metal sheets, we could administer saline to his hand. The input of saline and output (urination) was observed, which established that he was alive.”
Using high-end cold metal cutters and drillers, the teams managed to cut a side door of the cabin and clear metal objects, before they found a portion of his leg to administer decadron. Shekar, who was in pain, kept conversing and answered questions of the rescue teams. He asked them for water. They managed to provide him drinking water through a small gap created after the door was removed. The rescue operation, which started close to 11 am, ended at around 6.40 pm, when Shekar was safely pulled out of the cabin.
After providing him with basic medication, officials shifted him to Care Hospital at Nampally, where he was kept under observation.
Hospital authorities informed that the injured pilot was exhausted but in a stable condition. He would be kept under observation for 24 hours.
