25 years on, Kadalundi recounts memories of rail tragedy

A quarter of a century after one of Kerala’s worst railway disasters, the people of Kadalundi gathered on Monday, June 22, not only to remember the dead but also to revisit the tragedy that continues to define the village.

Survivors, bereaved families, rescuers and residents of the small coastal village on the Kozhikode-Malappuram border, where Kadalundipuzha flows into the Arabian Sea, gathered to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Kadalundi train disaster. For many, this was a reunion of memories rather than a memorial gathering.

Those who lost their loved ones sat next to those who escaped death. Fishermen pulling passengers from the river remembered the crazy hours following the accident. Survivors traced the moments they carried for 25 years.

Kadalundi panchayat president O. Bhakthavalsalan inaugurated the commemoration programme. The commemorative speech was made by experienced journalist A. Sajeevan. On June 22, 2001, on a monsoon Friday evening, the Mangaluru-Chennai Mail passed Kadalundi station and rolled towards the railway bridge spanning the river. Seconds later disaster struck.

As the train crossed the bridge at a speed of approximately 50 km per hour, the beams at the southern end collapsed. Six carriages plunged into the river below, turning an ordinary journey into one of the country’s most devastating rail accidents. Fifty-two people died and nearly 300 people were injured.

The screams of passengers echoed across the river as residents ran towards the bridge. Sand miners working nearby and fishermen from Chaliyam launched their boats within minutes, becoming first responders long before organized rescue teams arrived. They were later joined by halasis, firemen and police personnel from Beypore.

Rescue efforts continued throughout the night. Trapped passengers were removed from the twisted carriages after rescue teams broke the window bars with a crowbar and cut the metal using gas cutters.

The images that followed became part of Kerala’s collective memory. Hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram were flooded with anxious relatives searching for family members. Many victims were difficult to identify.

Among the haunting memories of the disaster is an unidentified hand sticking out of the window of a partially submerged carriage. The sight, visible above the water due to changing tides until rescuers cut open the car the next day, is etched in the minds of residents.

Twenty-five years later, the disaster still raises questions. Railroad officials were never able to definitively determine what caused the bridge to collapse. Rival theories have emerged over the years, but no explanation has fully solved the mystery.

But for Kadalundi, the disaster is more than an unsolved investigation. It is a collective memory that continues to bind the village together. On Monday, as survivors, rescuers and victims’ families gathered once again, the tragedy felt less like a page from history and more like a story still happening.