37-yr-old salesman dies after falling off train near Diva
At least 23 people have died this year alone after falling off trains between Thane and Kopar railway stations
THANE: A 37-year-old salesman died in the morning peak hours on Thursday after falling off a local train between Diva and Mumbra railway stations, making it the second such incident within the past week. At least 23 people have died this year alone after falling off trains between Thane and Kopar railway stations.
The deceased, identified as Keur Savala, 37, lived in Desale Pada of Dombivli with his seven-year-old daughter and wife. He had been working at a garment shop in Dadar for the past one and half years, and usually took the 9.05am or 9.25am local to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to reach his workplace. On Thursday, he reached Dombivli station at the usual time, greeted his friends in the railway commuter’s group and boarded a slow train to CSMT.
Since the train was crowded, Savala was standing on the footboard along with two other members from the commuters’ group, said his friend and fellow commuter Baban Silkar. “After the train left Kopar station, one of the members of our group standing on the footboard said they might fall, so I reached out and held Savla’s hand. But when the train left Diva and turned towards Mumbra, Savala’s hand slipped away from my hand and he fell. We reached Mumbra and informed police officials about the accident,” said Silkar.
The Diva GRP (Government Railway Police) team reached the accident spot and took Savala on a stretcher to Diva station. Though GRP officials tried to get an ambulance, the one deployed outside the railway station was busy. So, the GRP team and Savala’s friends requested a tempo driver to take the injured salesman to the hospital.
“We took him to the hospital immediately because he was bleeding profusely and needed immediate medical treatment. But he was declared dead during treatment,” said a GRP official.
For Savala’s family, this was the second train accident in the past two years which resulted in a death. “We lost our sister in a train accident two years ago. She was traveling on a crowded train when she was hit by a pole,” said his brother Sachin Savla.
On June 1, Prashant Shrihari Chirkutkar, a banker and Dombivli resident, also lost his life in a similar incident. Chikutkar had boarded a crowded train for Kalyan on May 31, but fell off on the tracks after the train left Kalwa station. His body was found in the bushes the next day.
“In both cases, commuters fell from trains during peak hours,” said Archana Dusane, senior police inspector at GRP, Thane, where the accidental death reports were registered.
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