Mumbai: 4 dead, several injured after passengers fall off crowded local train

At least four commuters, including a GRP constable, died and six were injured after falling off a moving overcrowded local train in Maharashtra’s Thane district during rush hour on Monday (June 9).

According to the police, the incident took place near Mumbra station.

Witness account

An eyewitness said the chain of events began after someone in the coach ahead of his either fell after hitting a wall or “something hit our compartment”.

This eyewitness, a Bhiwandi resident, had boarded the Kasara-CSMT train at Kalyan station.

“The incident happened when the train reached Mumbra station. Someone from the coach ahead of ours fell off after hitting a wall, or something hit our coach. At that time, three or four people from our coach fell down and some from other coaches also fell. I think seven ir eight people lost balance and fell on the tracks," he said.

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Backpacks may have played a part

Railway officials said the passengers probably fell after their backpacks brushed against those of commuters hanging from the footboard of another overcrowded trains passing in the opposite direction on the next track.

The witness said his friend Rehan Shaikh (26), who was coming from Kalyan to Thane, was injured in the accident.

Thane GRP’s senior police inspector Archana Dusane said they got an alert and rushed to the spot.

Passengers found by tracks

According to officials, at least six passengers were found injured along the fast line railway track between Mumbra and Diva stations. They were suspected to have fallen from a moving train, the officials said.

Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway, told PTI that the guard of a Kasara-bound train reported about the injured passengers along the tracks to the control room around 9.30 am.

The injured passengers were rushed to the nearby hospitals, he said. The Thane station manager said at least five injured persons were admitted to hospital there.

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Rush-hour Mumbai

In the morning, the passenger flow in Mumbai’s suburban network is towards the south of the metropolis where a majority of the offices are located. The flow reverses in the evening as people start leaving for home towards Thane and beyond on the Central Railway network and Andheri and beyond on Western Railway.

The morning and evening rush hours in the network are among the densest in the world.

(With agency inputs)