Eight junior Madhya Pradesh recurve archers, who have been travelling to Dehradun for the Junior National Championships, had a slender escape on Saturday afternoon when their coach of the Delhi-Dehradun Shatabdi Express prepare caught fire close to Haridwar and burned all their equipment and baggage.
However, none of the archers, coming from Jabalpur, sustained burn accidents. They lastly reached Dehradun by the identical prepare after the burned coach was indifferent. They purchased new garments in Dehradun, however will now have to make some association to get equipment for the competitors.
Madhya Pradesh coach Ashok Yadav, accompanying the crew, stated that the coach No. C-5 caught fire due to brief circuit after the prepare crossed the Haridwar railway station. “We all are safe but our luggage and equipment has been burnt in the accident,” Yadav, 38, instructed IANS from Dehradun.
The athletes have been aged between 17 and 20 years. The crew had boarded the prepare in the morning round 6.30 am from Delhi, the place that they had reached from Jabalpur. They are to compete in the recurve occasion on March 14 and 15.
A coach stated one set one set of bow and arrows prices between Rs.2.5 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh.
The junior boys crew consisted of Amit Patel, Amit Kumar, Harsh Sindhiya, and Rohit Rajat whereas the ladies’s crew comprised Amey Rai, Vitasa Thakur, Sonya Thakur and Dipika Pandey.
Around 12 midday on Saturday afternoon, when Yadav had gone to the rest room to wash his arms he noticed the fire get away inside the washroom. He instantly raised an alarm.
“The train was stopped and all the passengers were rushed out to safety. But we couldn’t retrieve our luggage or equipment due to the dense smoke and fire in the compartment. Even other passengers couldn’t retrieve their luggage,” stated Yadav.
Since the equipment received burned, the archer’s may have to make association to compete in the recurve competitors.
“We are in the process of arranging equipment. Hopefully, by Sunday the athletes will get a new set of equipment,” stated Virendra Sachdeva, a senior official of the Archery Association of India.
“We have purchased new track pants and T-shirts. We hope we can get equipment to compete,” stated Yadav.
The railway officers indifferent the burned bogey and all the passengers boarded totally different compartments and reached Dehradun safely.
