Mumbai Train Tragedy: ‘Something Hit the Train,’ Recalls Eyewitness of Accident That Killed Four Passengers

An eyewitness to the Mumbai local train accident that occurred on June 9, recalling the incident, stated that something hit the train compartment. Four passengers were killed and nine were injured after falling from moving, overcrowded trains. The incident happened around 9:30 am. The deceased are identified as: Rahul Santosh Gupta (Age 28, Resident of Diva), Ketan Dilip Saroj (Age 23, Resident of Tanaji Nagar, Ulhasnagar), Mayur Shah (Age 50), and Vicky Babasaheb Mukhydal (Age 34, Railway Police Constable). Vicky Mukhydal was a GRP constable.

The witness to the suburban train accident claimed that "something hit the train compartment" or that someone in the coach in front of him fell after colliding with a wall, starting the series of events, reported News18. Police stated that the mishap took place between Diva and Mumbra railway stations. The passengers fell from two trains as both trains were overcrowded, and several passengers were standing on the footboard. The tragic incident occurred as two local trains sped past each other, causing passengers hanging from the doors to collide and fall onto the tracks.

The eyewitness, who is a resident of Bhiwandi, boarded the Kasara-CSMT train at Kalyan. He said, “The train's arrival at Mumbra station was when the event occurred. A passenger of the coach in front of us fell off after colliding with a wall, or something hit the train. During that moment, three or four people of our coach fell down from train, and a few passengers of other coaches fell as well. I believe seven or eight people stumbled and fell onto the tracks,” reported News18.

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He said that his friend Rehan Shaikh, 26, was hurt in the accident while travelling from Kalyan to Thane, reported News18. According to the police, the guard on a train headed for Kasara informed the railway authorities about the occurrence. When they arrived at the local hospitals, four of the people who had fallen off the trains were pronounced dead, they claimed.

As per the data provided by the officials, around 75 lakh commuters travel daily by the suburban trains in the city. The morning and evening rush hours witness huge crowds daily and are the densest in the world. The majority of the offices are located south of the city, which is why the passenger flow is high in the morning. In the evening, the flow reverses as people begin to depart for their homes, travelling on the Central Railway network to Thane and beyond, and on the Western Railway to Andheri and beyond.