Maharashtra Train Tragedy: One Bag, One Sharp Turn Killed Four At Mumbra Station, Eyewitness Reveals

A bag worn by a passenger on a train took the lives of four in a mishap at Mumbra railway station in Thane district on Monday. An eyewitness has given the full account of what led to the fall in an overcrowded train.

Brush With Death: How a Passing Train's Bag Swept Four Passengers Off A Mumbai Train

Speaking to PTI, Dipak Shirsat has revealed that his friend Ketan Saroj (23) was killed in the incident. According to him, passengers fell from the moving train when the trains crossed each other on a steep turn. While one train headed to Kasara, the other to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai.

The tragic incident occurred between Diva and Mumbra stations, a stretch notorious for its sharp curves and overcrowding, around 9.10 am.

Shirsat, a resident of Ulhasnagar in Thane district and who travelled on the route with his friend daily, has claimed that they boarded the train at 8.30 am. They were on their way to work at Airoli in Navi Mumbai.

"As always, we took the same train and Ketan stood near the footboard. It was very hot, and Ketan was standing outside the compartment after Kalyan, where the train got crowded at Diva. When we passed Diva, the train was packed to the brim," PTI quoted Shirsat as saying.

Explaining about the tragedy, he said, "At the curvature near Mumbra, a bag worn by someone hanging on a footboard of the train coming from the opposite direction brushed against passengers on our train. People started falling one after another. Ketan was one of them."

He points out that the passengers in the compartment pulled the emergency chain at least three times, but the train halted only at the Thane station, approximately 12 kms from the accident site. "If the train had stopped when we pulled the chain, some lives could have been saved," he adds.

The eyewitness said that his friend had asked him to stand near the footboard but he did not pay heed to his advice which probably saved his life. "The train was crowded as usual, but I managed to sneak inside the coach, whereas Ketan was standing at the door," he noted.

Despite HC Order, No Ambulance At Mumbra Station

There was no ambulance available at the Mumbra Station, although there is a High Court order that mandates ambulances must be made available outside all suburban railway stations. Following the court order, the Maharashtra government in February had asked BVG India Limited to operate the '108' emergency service across Maharashtra with a doctor outside each railway station, according to a report in Mid-Day.

Speaking to the website, Dr Dnyaneshwar Shelke, chief operating officer of BVG India's 108 ambulance service, said: "There is no ambulance at Mumbra, and we checked our logbooks - there were no emergency calls made to us from there."

Activist Nazim Ansari said that the victims were rushed to hospitals in Kalwa and Thane even though there is a hospital in Mumbra. "This is exactly when we lose the golden hour - that critical window for saving lives - by transporting victims so far. Despite HC orders, there's still no medical room or ambulance stationed at Mumbra," a regular commuter noted.

This is not one-off incident. On May 2, two people were killed in separate incidents on a running train near Mumbra station after falling from the train, reportedly due to overcrowding.

Activist Samir Zaveri claims, "While Western Railway has ambulances and medical rooms at all stations, Central Railway (CR) only has the facility at about 10 to 15 stations. There's no ambulance at Thane, Kalwa, or Mumbra."

However, CR Chief Public Relations Officer Dr Swapnil Nila says that the first victims reached the hospital at 9.30 am and the last one at 9.50. "There was no delay in transporting victims to hospitals," Dr Nila added, stating the Central Railway has tied up with local hospitals nearby to handle such a crisis.