21-year-old pregnant woman falls from speeding train in Tamil Nadu, dies

Kasturi, who was seven months pregnant, was travelling from Chennai, where she was living with her husband Sureshkumar, to Sankarankovil for her baby shower.

Chennai: In a tragic incident, a 21-year-old pregnant woman, who was travelling to her native town for her baby shower function, fell off from a moving train in Ulundurpet in Tamil Nadu on Thursday night while vomiting from near the door.

Kasturi, who was seven months pregnant, was travelling from Chennai, where she was living with her husband Sureshkumar, to Sankarankovil in Tenkasi district on the Chennai-Kollam Superfast Express, along with her family members. As Kasturi felt puking, she went to the entrance of the S9 coach of the train to vomit, but it is understood that she felt dizzy and fell off from the train after losing her balance.

Panicked relatives did try pulling the emergency chain in both S9 and the adjacent S8 coaches, but the train didn’t stop. Kasturi’s body was recovered from the tracks at around 11 pm on Thursday night after a three-hour search in the area. The postmortem of her body revealed she was carrying a baby boy.

Sources in Southern Railway and Railway Protection Force (RPF) told DH that the incident happened around 8.00 pm between Ulundurpet and Puvanur railway stations of Trichy division. Relatives of Kasturi claim that she could have been saved had emergency chains worked and train brakes were applied on time.

“We did pull chains in both S8 and S9 compartments, but the train didn’t stop. It was after someone from our bogey went to another and pulled the chain, the train stopped. By the time it stopped, the train had come about 8 km far from the spot where Kasturi fell off,” a woman relative said.

Expressing regret over the incident, Southern Railway (SR) said it has ordered a probe into the incident, including checking of all onboard safety items. A case has also been registered by the Government Railway Police under the section that deals with accidental fall, a statement from the SR said.

The relatives said Kasturi’s baby shower function was scheduled for Sunday in Tenkasi district and she and her family members were travelling when the incident took place. She got married to Sureshkumar nine months ago.

Another relative said Kasturi felt uncomfortable, and she rushed to the door to vomit.

“While vomiting, she felt giddy and lost her balance as a result of which she was thrown out of the train,” the second relative said, and complained about a “faulty” chain.

Southern Railway has ordered an inquiry into the incident, while the Tamil Nadu government has also instituted an inquiry by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) into the death.

However, a source in the Southern Railway told DH that the brake power on Kollam Express was “sufficient” and that it was checked by engineers before the train proceeded on its journey towards Kollam.

The source added that the alarm or emergency chain must be “pulled sufficiently strong enough” to be able to apply the brakes. “Merely pulling the chain doesn’t work as it needs some strong force. As far as the brake power is concerned, it is fine. But the inquiry will establish all factors,” the source said.