Pall-bearers carry the coffins of Sagarika Chakraborty and Mamta Kumari, who perished in Chennai . Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Dec. 29: The morning mist was yet to lift. But the Ranchi railway station was a sea of anxious faces. Friends and relatives of the tsunami victims, who had thronged the station, did not mind waiting for the train.

The Dhanbad-Alleppey Express carrying the bodies of the players from Chennai ran an hour behind schedule, increasing the desperation of the family members and friends of Sagarika Chakraborty and Mamta Kumari, who fell prey to the killer wave that ravaged the southern coastline on Sunday.

By 11 am, platform number 1was packed with people, who kept scanning the tracks for signs of the train. Almost all the players, who had accompanied the victims to Chennai, were present at the station.

When the two spotless white coffins finally arrived, more than 1,000 people rushed to lend a hand. They gathered around the coffins to pay homage to the girls, who according to their team-mates, had risked their lives trying to save others.

While the relatives of both the players were inconsolable when they garlanded the coffins, others grieved silently. The coffins were then loaded in a truck, which ferried them first to the residence of Sagarika Chakraborty and then to Mamta?s. There was an eerie silence in Shraddha Apartments, where Sagarika lived.

When the trucks reached the residence of Sagarika?s elder sister, the silence was broken by a piercing wail. By the time, the coffin locks were broken, she had fainted and had to be carried upstairs. Sagarika?s body was decorated like a bride after which she was taken to the Harmu cremation ground.

The scene at road number 10 of Indrapuri (Ratu Road), Mamta?s residence, was even more moving. One could see people everywhere ? on the roofs of the houses, at every nook and corner of the road and peeping out of windows ? waiting for a glimpse of the chirpy-next-door-girl.

?We still cannot believe that Mamta is not with us anymore. She was such a lively person. She was into everything ? be it sports, music, NCC and blood donation. She used to help her elder sister run the NGO,? said Devdas Prasad, Mamta?s brother in-law.

Arjun Munda also visited Mamta?s residence and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to one of her family members. He will visit Sagarika?s residence tomorrow.