A one-and-a-half-year-old girl travelling with her mother on the Pawan Express suddenly fell from the moving train in Jabalpur. The incident took place between Katni and Jabalpur on 15 September. The train was travelling at around 70 km/h after leaving Katni station.
The girl fell about 8 feet through the emergency window onto sharp stones. When she could not find her daughter, her mother, Sanjida Khatun, panicked. The passengers immediately pulled the emergency chain, ran along the tracks and picked up the girl. She was bleeding from injuries to her head, back, arms and legs.
Mother did not realise when the girl got up
Twenty-six-year-old Sanjida is from Muzaffarpur. Her husband works in Mumbai. She was travelling from Muzaffarpur to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She had laid the girl beside her on the lower berth and was looking at her mobile phone.
Meanwhile, the girl got up, held the rod of the emergency window and stood up. She fell out of the window when the train jerked. When the girl suddenly disappeared, her mother could not understand what had happened. The passengers suspected that she had fallen outside.
Fewer rods in emergency window caused her to fall through opening
According to passengers, the emergency window had fewer rods than a regular window. The girl tried to stand by holding the rods but fell outside when the train jolted.
Despite the train’s speed and the fall from a height of around 8 feet, passengers breathed a sigh of relief on seeing the girl’s condition. Several passengers described it as a miracle.
Railway sent her to Mumbai on another train
When the train reached Jabalpur station, a team from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the commercial department attended to the girl and took her to the district hospital. After first aid, she was referred to the medical college.
Sanjeeda said she had no acquaintances in Jabalpur and wanted to have the girl’s further treatment carried out in Mumbai. The railway authorities then sent them to Mumbai on another train.
Rajeev Kharb, in-charge of the RPF post, said the incident occurred as the train was departing from Katni station. The girl was referred to the medical college because she had sustained injuries to her head and other parts of her body.
