Toddler falls off moving train near Samrala, hospitalised

The girl fell through the emergency exit window; her mother had gone to the washroom at the time; doctors say she suffered minor injuries and her condition is stable

A one-and-a-half-year-old girl survived with minor injuries after she fell off a moving train near Samrala on Thursday afternoon. As per information, the girl fell through the emergency exit window. Her mother had gone to the washroom at the time.

The toddler lying on the hospital bed as her mother and two sisters look on. (HT PHOTO)

It was after the mother raised the alarm that other passengers pulled the chain and brought the train to a halt and informed railway officials.

After two hours of search, the girl, identified as Mahira Sharma, was found lying in the fields, about six kilometres from where the train halted. She was rushed to the Samrala civil hospital from where she was shifted to a private hospital. Doctors said she has suffered only minor injuries and is in a stable condition.

Vaishali Sharma, the girl’s mother, said that she resides in Mumbai and had come to Phagwara with her three children to meet her relatives. On Thursday, the four of them boarded the Paschim Express from Phagwara to reach Mumbai. The seats allotted to them were in the middle of the compartment. Around afternoon, she went to the washroom, leaving the three children on their seats. When she came back, her five-year-old daughter told her that Mahira had fallen off the window.

A passenger on the train said that it is nothing less than a miracle that the girl suffered only minor injuries as the train was moving very fast.

Dinesh Malhotra, a railway official, said the train was halted for about two hours after the incident. Railway officials said they will make arrangements to send the family to Mumbai after the girl recovers.