A 61-year-old woman had a miraculous escape near Basin Bridge on Wednesday morning, after being hit by a train and trapped beneath the engine and cow catcher. Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and members of the public managed to pull her out safely, after the engine driver stopped the train.
According to the Government Railway Police at Chennai Central, the incident took place around 7.30 a.m when the Chennai-Bengaluru double decker train (No. 22625 ) was moving slowly just beyond the Basin Bridge Railway station.
At this juncture, the woman, Ambika, who was dressed in a nightgown and was trying to cross the tracks, was hit by the train engine.
“Usually if something hits the cow catcher, it gets thrown away. But since the train was moving slowly and since the woman was slim, she got trapped beneath,” said a senior police officer.
The engine driver stopped the locomotive, sensing there was something wrong. “Seeing the train stop, Sarita Priti Khalkho, a woman constable with the RPF, a few railway staff personnel and locals rushed to her help. The driver reversed the train and they managed to pull the woman out safely,” the officer said.
Ambika’s face was stained with blood and she was rushed to Government Stanley Hospital for treatment. She has sustained fractures in her hand and is said to be out of danger. A police officer said that Ambika said she was from Guduvanchery and that she had walked all the way to Basin Bridge. “We are investigating,” the officer said.
