Notebooks, school bags & ID cards – tragic remains of gory train-bus mishap in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: A notebook bearing the name of T Charumathy, one of the deceased, school bags, tiffin boxes, and identity cards — these were all that remained after the horrific accident involving a school bus and a passenger train near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.

The accident site bore witness to the extent of the tragedy, with the mangled remains of the bus, notebooks strewn across the railway tracks, and the shoes of the children who perished.

Charumathy and her younger brother, T Chezhiyan, studying in 11th and 10th standard respectively, were among four students traveling in the bus to their school when the accident occurred, leaving their parents, Dravida Mani and Kalaiselvi, devastated.

The parents, both daily wage labourers and farmers, had aspired for their son to become an IAS officer and their daughter a medical doctor. That was why they sent them to an English-medium school, despite struggling to afford the expenses.

Tuesday began as usual for Mani, who dropped his children at the school bus stop and proceeded to work. However, within half an hour, he received a call that turned his life upside down. Mani and Kalaiselvi cried profusely and were inconsolable as the lifeless bodies of their children were brought to their modest home.

“He (Chezhiyan) aspired to clear the UPSC and become a bureaucrat,” his uncle Murugan said, tears rolling down his cheeks. While Charumathy died on the spot, Chezhiyan breathed his last at the government hospital in Cuddalore.

“Chezhiyan had head injuries and looked normal when we saw him on the way to the hospital, but he was unconscious,” Murugan added. He said eyewitnesses told the family that the gate was open when the school bus attempted to cross the railway track and that the driver was not at fault.

The children’s grandmother struggled to contain her emotions as she spoke about her two grandchildren. “They were lovely kids. They studied well, and my daughter-in-law took great care of them. We never expected the children to return home lifeless within hours of going to school,” she said.

The father of another victim, Nimalesh, also broke down while talking about his son’s tragic death. “My younger son died on the spot, while my elder son has suffered injuries. Doctors have said he has a fracture. I lost one son due to the callousness of the gatekeeper,” the inconsolable father added.

His son, Viskesh, who escaped with injuries along with the driver, said the railway gate was open and they didn’t even hear the sound of the approaching train. “To say the driver asked for the gate to be opened is false. The gate was open, and that’s why our driver proceeded,” he added.