Lifeline bleeds again

Four commuters lose lives after falling from speeding local in Thane, nine hurt

Thane/Mumbai: At least four commuters fell to their death from two speeding suburban trains and another nine were injured, some seriously, between Diva and Mumbra stations of the Central Railway in Thane, during the morning peak hours on Monday, officials said.

Among those killed was a Government Railway Police (GRP) official, and three other office-goers, rushing to their workplaces in Mumbai.

The gruesome tragedy on the first work day of the week left the 8-million plus daily commuters badly shaken amid a clamour for improving the safety aspects for the commuting crowds in jam-packed suburban trains.

Speaking to the media, CR’s Chief Spokesperson Swapnil D. Nila said that at least 13 commuters fell from the two running trains on that sector.

“This is not a train accident, it is only an incident involving 13 persons… Five were rushed to a local hospital and the rest to the CSM Hospital in Kalwa for treatment,” Nila said.

What happened?

The tragedy occurred around 9.30 am when the guard of the train zooming from CSMT-Kasara sent an alert at 9.50 am that six persons had fallen on the railway tracks and an ambulance was hurried to render assistance which found there were eight victims.

The CR CPRO said that the victims were travelling on the footboard ostensibly due to overcrowding in the morning rush hours, on the Mumbra-Diva Down/Fast line.

Nila added that the shoulder bags of some of the commuters from the two trains hurtling in opposite directions brushed causing them to fall on the space between the tracks of the two lines, usually 1.5-2.0 metres apart, but a tilt could occur on curves, considered one of the causes behind the disaster.

An injured passenger Tushar Bhagat of Titwala, told media-persons that as the train approached the deadly curve near Mumbai, those standing near the doors got a sudden squeeze and attempted to hold on for dear life, but in seconds, he and others fell off the train, four to their deaths.

Probe ordered

The railways have ordered a probe into the incident while the Maharashtra government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the kin of each deceased and all medical expenses of the injured.

In a knee-jerk reaction, the railways have announced that all new suburban train rakes shall be fitted with automatic closing doors, a la Metro trains, while all the existing rakes will be retrofitted with similar doors to avoid similar incidents in future.

List of victims: 

The dead:

Vicky Babasaheb Mukhidal, 34, a Government Railway Police official,

Ketan Dilip Saroj, 23, Ulhasnagar

Rahul Santosh Gupta,

And, an unidentified person

The injured:

Shiva Gawli, 23, admitted to CSM Hospital, Kalwa, now in Jupiter Hospital, Thane, critical

Sneha Donde, (Female) 21, of Titwala, stable

Priyanka Bhatia, (Female) 26, of Kalyan, stable

Anil More, 40, taken to Jupiter Hospital, stable

Aadesh Bhoir, 26, of Kasara, stable

Tushar Bhagat, 22, of Titwala, stable

Manish Saroj, 26, of Diva, stable

Rihan Sheikh, 26, of Bhiwandi, stable

Machhindra Gotarne, 39, of Vashind, stable