Harala Debnath of Kalna in Burdwan district had no idea he would have to return to Howrah station only a few hours after he bade farewell to his son Siddhartha Debnath (32) Thursday night. A visibly shaken Haralal, an employee of LIC, was waiting for the special inspection train to come, so that he could go and identify his son’s body.

Siddhartha, who was supposed to join as a lecturer at the Vilaspur Dental College on Friday, was traveling along with his brother-in-law, in the ill-fated Jnaneshwari Express.

“After his bogey toppled, Siddhartha, who was badly injured, somehow managed to get out of the coach. He sat unattended for quite some time, before breathing his last. There was absolute chaos at the spot, with nobody to look after the injured victims,” said the father, sobbing.

Haralal at least knows his son is dead, if that is any consolation. For many others like Lata De and Niladri De of Bhadreswar in Hooghly district it was like groping in the dark. Lata’s husband Narugopal De (48), an employee in a factory at Tilaknagar near Mumbai, was travelling in Coach S4. “I can’t contact him over the phone. I don’t know where he is, how he is,” said Lata, breaking down.

Niladri’s maternal uncle and aunt Dilip Bhattacharya (47) and Shivani Bhattacharya (35) were returning to their place in Madhya Pradesh, after spending the summer holidays with Niladri and his parents in Bhadreshwar. “They couldn’t be contacted. I don’t know whether they are still alive,” said Niladri, waiting for the special train to leave.

Recounting her experience, Kasba resident Debasmita Majumder, a 21-year-old college student who survived, said she was going to Pune to appear for an interview at the Pune University.

“We had just switched off the lights of the compartment, when we heard a loud, crashing noise, and could feel the train going up. Within 10 seconds, a goods train crashed against our train, causing the bogeys to tumble up one above the other,” said Debasmita.