PUBLISHED ONJuly 22, 2024 4:35 AMByBhavya RawatA father lost his life trying to save his two daughters who were in the path of an oncoming train after their pram rolled onto the railway tracks.
On Sunday (July 21), the man, 40, and his wife, 39, took a lift to the platform of Carlton station in the south of Sydney along with their two-year-old twins who were in a pram, reported local media 9News.
They had taken their hands off the pram "for a very short period of time" and it immediately rolled onto the train tracks, New South Wales Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan told local reporters at the station on the same day.
The father then leapt into action, jumping down the train tracks to save his daughters in an "incredibly brave and heroic act", added Dunstan.
However, he was unable to avoid the oncoming train, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. This took place at about 12.25pm.
The man and one of the twins were hit and killed while the second little girl escaped unharmed as she had fallen between the tracks - where police found her crying, according to 9News.
The mother, who witnessed the whole scene, was left "incredibly traumatised", said the superintendent.
According to 9News, she was brought to a nearby hospital with her surviving daughter.
A woman who witnessed the accident told 9News that the father had just started lifting the pram to the platform when the train came hurtling towards him and the twin girls.
She added that she only heard one child crying after the collision, not two.
Another witness said that he heard the train go past, and a woman screaming "please, stop, stop".
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns expressed his condolences and acknowledged the father's bravery.
"In the face of a terrible, terrible accident, he gave his own life to try and save his children," he said.
"I hope, over time, they can gain some small solace knowing that the father died from an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery," he added, addressing the Indian community in the area, which the family was a part of.
The family had just moved to Australia from India in October last year after the father received a job opportunity in Sydney, reported 9News.
He was later identified as Anand Runwal.
Minns also thanked emergency services for their professionalism during "an incredibly confronting and traumatic" incident.
While speaking to media, Dunstan expressed that the police was not sure if it was a "gust of wind" which caused the pram to roll.
Although Sydney experienced severe winds on Saturday, which affected services at the nearby airport, conditions had eased by early Sunday afternoon.
Investigators will assess if a wind gust could have sent the pram rolling onto the tracks and piece together videos of the family before the accident to understand the circumstances, reported ABC News.
CCTV footage posted by 9News shows the family just minutes before the accident, looking relaxed.
As they wait to cross the road to the station, the mother can be seen glancing inside a shop while the father is holding on to the pram with their children.
Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland told ABC News that these kinds of incidents were "incredibly rare" and that they were working closely with police to build a picture of how the incident unfolded, including train speed.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
