A father and one of his two-year-old daughters died when the twins’ pram rolled into the path on an oncoming train today.
Despite the ‘heroic’ dad, 40, leaping into action in a bed to rescue his children, only one of them survived when the pram fell off a platform at southern Sydney’s Carlton railway station on Sunday.
His instant jump ‘into parents mode’, as New South Wales police described it, ultimately cost him his life.
But his ‘incredibly brave and heroic act’ was not entirely in vain.
When emergency services arrived, they ‘could hear crying coming from underneath the train’, superintendent Paul Dunstan said.
‘Through good luck’, one of the twins survived ‘largely untouched’ when she landed between the rails with enough room for the train to pass above her, he said.
The train had slowed on approach to the station despite not being scheduled to stop there.
All it had taken for tragedy to unfold was the parents lifting ‘their hands off the pram for a very, very short period of time’ after descending a lift to the platform.
‘Whether it’s a gust of wind or – we’re not quite sure – but it appears that the pram has instantly started to roll in the direction of the train lines’, Dunstan explained.
The mother, 39, and her surviving daughter were taken to the local St. George Hospital where both were said to be in a stable condition.
Described as being ‘in a state of shock and struggling with what’s happened’, the mum is currently being supported by family and friends in their local Indian community, Dunstan said.
The tragedy has pained the local community, according to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
He said: ‘I hope over time they can gain some small solace knowing that the father died from an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery.
‘In the face of a terrible, terrible accident, he gave his own life to try and save his children.’
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