Man jumps off bridge to escape train, missing

A railway engineering employee has gone missing after he jumped off the Aroor bridge, failing to reach a trolley box along the one-km bridge to escape an approaching train early Saturday.

Vivek Haridas, 26, a resident of Cherthala, and his friend Ajesh, 33, were inspecting the track over the bridge when a train approached. Though his friend managed to reach the box, Vivek could not and jumped off the track into the water. “A search operation is on with the Coast Guard, Fire and Rescue, police, and a private team employed by Railways,” police said. Sources said the employees had not been properly alerted about the train.