Navi Mumbai: Sad end to Vashi viral video saga

The trespasser who was miraculously rescued after being run over by a train at Vashi station was saved as passengers and railway police managed to get the train to move a bit and pull him out, according to eyewitnesses. Despite the valiant effort, the man, Rajendra Govind Khandke, 48, eventually succumbed to his injuries.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. In the CCTV footage, Khandke, a resident of Koparkhairane, is seen getting down from a train and walking straight towards the tracks in the opposite direction, probably to cross over to the other platform. Only after jumping onto the tracks, did he realise that the approaching train was too close. He got dragged ahead of the train. Commuters, in a desperate bid to save him, tried to push the train on the other side to pull him out, which worked against all odds.

Rajendra Govind Khandke (extreme left) before he leapt onto the tracks

Narrating the sequence of events, railway officials said that Khandke was run over by a Panvel-bound train on platform number 2 of Vashi station at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) end. After being pulled out by railway staff, passengers and railway police, he was rendered basic first aid and sent to Navi Mumbai Municipal Hospital in Vashi. "From Navi Mumbai, he was later shifted to JJ hospital," a GRP official said. Khandke had suffered multiple leg injuries.

Poster's account The poster of the rescue video that went viral, a Redditor named Cat_of_Culture, said, "I don't know much actually. When I reached Vashi, the train had barely entered the station. The door to my first-class compartment hung half over the edge of the station. I went to see what happened and came to know the thing. Folks pushed the train a bit and pulled him out. The train barely moved, but it seems it did the trick." Railway officials said commuters should never indulge in such activities of trespassing as it is very dangerous. "Vashi station has multiple underpasses to switch platforms and exit/enter the station," an official said.

Another official expressed disbelief that a train coach, which is part of a 12-car train, could be moved by human force. "There are too many factors with a fully packed train with an overhead pantograph on it. A Metro train is comparatively lighter at around 40-45 tonnes, but an empty broad-gauge EMU coach itself is around 56 tonnes. Multiply that into 12 coaches plus the load of passengers and other forces,"
he added.

February 5
Day mishap occurred