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Did
negligence worsen the world's worst train tragedy? According to evidence at the inquiry, the Railway Control room had made frantic attempts to contact nearby stations including Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa stations to warn the ill-fated train but there was no response. It was also alleged that the railway authorities had not contacted the Air Force for helicopter rescue missions which could have pulled hundreds of passengers out of the killer waves. Air Force spokesman Ajantha Silva said camps nearby had not been contacted to help rescue passengers who were fighting for their lives. Adding to the lapses was the failure to inform Transport Minister Felix Perera who said he came to know about the horror only at about 5 p.m. that day and that too through the Prime Minister. The minister said he had asked President Chandrika Kumaratunga to appoint an independent commission to probe the tragedy as trade unions were not satisfied with the internal probe. While passengers waited and died in the train at Thelwatte, at least four other trains were saved because the engine drivers were contacted on their mobile phones and told to turn back. Railway General Manager Piyal de Silva said one of the trains heading to Matara from Galle had been saved by the alert driver who called him from his mobile and asked for instructions. The train had left Galle and reached Magalla when engine driver Aloka Bopage saw rising waves and sought permission to reverse the train to the Galle station. The waves had hit the Magalla area causing extensive damage. The other trains were alerted and saved in Kalutara South, Ahangama and Panadura. Mr. de Silva said they were probing whether there was negligence and whether the tragedy could have been averted. He said the report of the internal inquiry would be ready by Thursday. Meanwhile the ill-fated train's head guard W. Karuntillake said that after he survived the tsunami attack he had remained there until 2.45 p.m. helping to rescue people with the assistance of a Colombo National hospital doctor who was a passenger in the train. He claimed that when he called over at the nearest police station at Meetiyagoda to get help, the police officer there told him nothing could be done till a senior officer arrived. The head guard said he asked the police station to inform the Maradana control room which was next to the Maradana police station but that too was not done. He claimed he had to wait one hour for the senior police officer to arrive and people could have been saved if the police had acted fast. |
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