Woman thrown off train, dies

In a tragic accident, a 50year-old woman got thrown off a passenger train on Tuesday evening near Vidyavihar station. She was standing near the doorway as she had to get off at Dadar station.

Police sources said that the woman, Reema Kesarkar, had gone with her family to Kolhapur to visit some temples in the area. On Monday evening, they got into the Mahalaxmi Express to return to Mumbai and they started the journey on time.

In a police statement, her husband, Rajiv Kesarkar, said that as the train started approaching Mumbai, the family started collect- ing their baggage since they had to get off at Dadar station. “We had brought our luggage and kept it near the doorway and my wife was helping in getting this done and was standing nearest to the doorway,” he said. As the train was passing Vidyavihar station, the woman suddenly lost her balance and fell from the train which was travelling at high speed, the police said. Immediately, the husband raised the alarm and pulled the emergency chain and the train stopped near Sion station.

The husband and the railway police rushed to the spot and took the victim to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead before admission.

A medical examination later revealed that she had suffered serious head injuries and also fractured her arms and legs.

“It was a tragic accident and we are still trying to find out on how she lost her balance and got thrown out of the train,” a police officer said.

A railway official said that it is important for passengers to understand that they should not stand near the doorway of a train that is moving at high speed. “There are regular announcements made even in the local trains to caution people against standing at the doorway and leaning down. But every day we see people doing this and this leads to loss of precious lives,” he pointed out.