The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Man knocked down by train

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Sunday, May 06, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Man knocked down by train

Staff Reporter

FATAL CROSSING: People gather near the spot where a 48-year-old man was killed while crossing the track near Tambaram Sanatorium railway station on Saturday. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: A 48-year-old man, who tried to caution two women pedestrians about an approaching train, was killed after he was hit by a locomotive near the Tambaram Sanatorium railway station on Saturday.

Udayakumar, according to eyewitnesses, was crossing the track at a level crossing when the gates were closed. Noticing two women, who were about to cross the track while an electric train was approaching, Udayakumar tried to wave them away. In the process, he failed to notice the electric locomotive coming on the main line towards Chennai Beach. Though the engine driver repeatedly sounded the horn, it was too late.

Udayakumar was flung into the air and thrown about 100 feet away, said the eyewitnesses.

The accident took place at 7.20 a.m. But the body was not removed till 9.30 a.m., resulting in a huge crowd gathering at the site.

Just two weeks ago, a senior citizen was fatally knocked down by an express train while crossing the track on the northern end of the platform at the station.

Though the subway here was spruced up only recently, it has remained unusable for several months.

If Southern Railway officials could sensitise pedestrians to use the subway, accidents can be prevented, say activists.

Obscene posters on the pillars of a bridge under construction also distract pedestrians and two-wheeler riders who cross the tracks, they add.

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