Five other girls, also in Tuesday's crash at Bidkin about 20 km from Aurangabad city, were discharged today before leaving for Mumbai by private taxi along with some of their school teachers. Two others, Sujata Shinde and Sheetal Keskar, will have to stay back but they are fast recovering.

The parents of Usha and Shubhangi, who arrived here late on Tuesday night, wonder whether they will ever speak with their teenage daughters again. None of the girls has regained consciousness and the multiple injuries to their brains suggest they may not live normal lives if they do indeed recover. All the Kambles and Shendres can dofor the time being is gaze at the girls and hang on to the sound of their laboured breathing.

The hospital has also sought help from private super-speciality doctors while former Shiv Sena MP, Pradeep Jaiswal, has offered to bear the cost of treatment at the government hospital or a private medical institution.

An associate professor in the Department of Surgery told Express Newsline that 30 operations were performed on the 28 persons injured in Tuesday's smash-up. At least four were major surgeries.

The surge of public support has also been tremendous, with 147 residents here spontaneously offering to donate blood.

In fact, about 200 donors were turned back as the requirement had been met, says resident medical officer at the hospital, Dr Ramdas Ambulgekar.

Many teenage school students too rushed to the hospital as the bodies were brought in but were refused permission as blood donors have to be 18 years old or more.

Help never once ceased to flow in from various quarters after the tragedyoccured. The district collector reserved 10 rooms at the government guesthouse and arranged for boarding and conveyance as well while Deputy Collector Dilip Shinde has been constantly monitoring the situation at the hospital.

Social workers from the city have been streaming into the hospital since Wednesday morning, carrying food and tea for relatives and the students admitted here. A control room has also been set up to coordinate messages and information received from people across the state, wanting to help the accident victims while junior college girls from Vasantrao Naik College have been assisting relatives of the girls admitted here.

Social worker, Radheshyam Agrawal, who has been at the hospital since Tuesday, has also offered accommodation to the relatives at his Genda Bhawan hall. A small tea kiosk also contributed its mite to everyone connected with the tragedy.