He was on his way to Kanpur with his parents and elder brother when the Indore-Patna Express train derailed, separating him from his family. Four-year-old Adarsh Pandey was rushed to Pukhrayan Community Health Centre (CHC) by rescue workers on Sunday, where he was treated for his fractured right leg and injured right hand, reported The Indian Express.
Local police showed him photos of those who have died to see if he could identify his father from the photos, according to the report. All he was able to say was, "Kanpur ja rahe thhe, mausi ke yahan ja rahe thhe (We were on our way to Kanpur, we were going to my maternal aunt's place)," according to the report.
While the child was too traumatised to talk, doctors told Express, his uncle Manoj Kumar Pandey identified him from television reports, and rushed to the CHC, where Adarsh recognised him. Adarsh's parents and elder brother are still missing. They were reportedly all on their way from Bhopal to Varanasi to attend a marriage.
At least 120 people have died in what is believed to be the worst train tragedy in recent years. Around 200 others have been injured. Initial reports suggest that the accident took place because of cracks in the train tracks. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of ₹3.5 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for those critically injured in the accident.
