The incident occurred at 8:45 a.m. when the Tirumalpur-bound slow train was heading towards Platform number 3 of St. Thomas Mount station.

Four commuters on the footboard of an overcrowded suburban train were killed, and six others injured on Tuesday after they hit a concrete fence abutting a platform at the St. Thomas Mount station in Chennai.

Three of the victims, who died on the spot, were identified as Bharat, 17, who was studying in Pozhichallur; Shiva, 19, a student of B.Com in Pallavaram; and Naveen, an employee with a private firm in Chengalpattu. The fourth victim died enroute to hospital.

Rush hour tragedy

The incident occurred during rush hour about 8.25 a.m. when the Chennai Beach-Tirumalpur slow train (40701) was entering the St. Thomas Mount station. Many passengers were travelling on the footboard of the crowded train. Many were hanging onto the right side of the first compartment, hoping to alight quickly on Platform 2, the train’s usual slot in the station. However, due to an over-head cable fault at Kodambakkam station around 7.30 a.m., trains were delayed, and diverted to other platforms. The 40701 local was diverted to Platform 4, the track for express trains with a single platform on the left side.

Describing the accident, a police officer said, “The concrete fence is at the edge of Platform 3 and when the train entered the platform, the commuters on the footboard on the first coach hit the fence and fell. Three of them died on the spot.”

The incident occurred at about 8:45 am at St. Thomas Mount station. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Monday night accident

Incidentally, two passengers died in a similar manner at the same spot on Monday night, police said.

Police also suggested that a few passengers might have fallen off the train after their backpacks got entangled in the concrete fence. The injured were rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Royapettah Government Hospital.