Nurse crawls under train to cross track, loses limbs
A nurse lost a leg and a hand after crawling under a stationary goods train to cross the track and the train suddenly started moving, crushing her.
In a hurry to reach her workplace on time, a 54-year-old nurse, working with the Sion hospital, lost a leg and a hand, after she crawled under a stationary goods train to cross the track and the freight train suddenly started moving, crushing her under the wheel in Asangaon station.
The incident occurred at 5.44am, Saturday, when the nurse, Vidya Wakharikar, was running late to catch her local to work, which was arriving at the platform. Thinking she might miss catching her train, she decided to cross the track in which a goods train was stationed. The train suddenly started moving and the woman sustained severe injuries. She has rushed to Sion hospital for treatment.
Wakharikar, a resident of Asangaon, travelled daily from Asangaon to Sion for work. Wakharikar has three children, and her husband has an auto business.
The doctors tried to save her limbs, but they had to be amputated due to the severity of her injuries.
“The woman did not realise that the goods train would start and suddenly got stuck under it. Unfortunately, in the incident, the woman lost her left leg and left hand,” said Mukesh Dhage, senior police inspector, Kalyan Government Railway Police. “She was immediately taken to Sion hospital for treatment. She is conscious and further treatment is going on.”
Anita Zope, Kalyan Kasara railway commuter association member said, “The incident happened because there is no bridge on the Mumbai side of Asangaon railway station, and she was in a hurry to catch the train. She didn’t have an option but to go under the goods train and quickly cross the track. The pedestrian bridge built by railways is of no use because it is on the middle side of the platform. Most travellers from the CSMT end to the station frequently meet with accidents.”
Although she is a nurse, Wakharikar is known to local Asangaon villagers as a “doctor”. “She has been working at Sion hospital for many years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she was the one who helped villagers with many things. She was also a social worker, and whenever any medical advice was required, they first consulted her. Everyone is saddened to know about the incident,” Zope said.