india

Updated: Oct 09, 2019 23:23 IST

A tourist from Bengal’s Hooghly district died after he fell from a running Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) train, commonly referred to as the toy train, in Darjeeling on Wednesday. He lost his grip while leaning out of the coach to take selfies with his phone.

The deceased, Pradip Saxena, was a resident of Rishra in Hooghly. He and his family boarded the train in the morning for a ride from Darjeeling to Ghoom, a distance of seven km.

When the train reached a sharp turn near Batasia Loop, Saxena fell and sustained head injuries. He was rushed to Darjeeling district hospital where he was referred to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri. He succumbed to his injuries near Kurseong. Doctors at Kurseong sadar hospital declared him dead on arrival.

Passengers of the train told the police that Saxena was warned several times by the guard but he did not pay any heed.

Gautam Deb, state tourism minister, said “The state government will make all arrangement to take Saxena’s body to his home.”

DHR joy rides are very popular among tourists in Darjeeling. The trains chugs along the mountains in slow speed but an accident like this has never happened.