3 die after passengers fall from EMU train in Chennai

At least three commuters were killed and four were injured after falling from an EMU train near St Thomas Mount railway station in Chennai on Thursday. The passengers were travelling on footboard of the Chennai Beach-bound EMU train from Tirumalpur. 

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Six people fell off the train after the backpack of one of the passengers got stuck in the signalling post around 9 am. Three died on the spot.

The victims have not been identified, said Government Railway Police sources.

The injured were rushed to the government hospital and the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination. 

On January 3, 2017, a 56-year-old woman and her 27-year-old daughter were killed while getting down from a moving EMU at Pazhavanthangal railway station. The mother fell under the wagon's wheels while the daughter fell on the track ballast sustaining a head injury. 

The 56-year-old died on the spot while the daughter was declared brought dead at the hospital. 

In September 2016, a toddler died after falling on the tracks at Mambalam. She and her mother fell down while alighting from the train. The child died on the spot and the mother sustained serious injuries. 

According to a TOI report, the railways is responsible for giving compensation to the victims who fall from the train. In a January 27 report, the newspaper quoted the incident of a man who lost his leg after falling from the footboard of a train. The Railways Claims Tribunal was directed to pay Rs 8 lakh as compensation even though he was sitting on the footboard.

"The liability of railway is strict, and even if it were to be assumed that a passenger fell down from train because of his own negligence, it will have no effect on compensation payable," the directive said.