Dad, daughter killed after pram carrying twins rolls onto train tracks

Posted by
Check your BMI

A family outing has ended in tragedy after a pram carrying twin girls rolled onto train tracks at a station in Sydney, and their father died trying to save them.

One of the two-year-old girls was also killed, while the other toddler escaped injury despite becoming trapped under a train at Carlton Railway Station near Kogarah in the city's south about 12.25pm.

The girls' mother, a 39-year-old woman, who saw the accident unfold has been left "incredibly traumatised", NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said.

READ MORE: Man dies in hospital after being ambushed in Sydney street in daylight attack

toonsbymoonlight

He said it appeared the parents' hands had come off the pram for "a short second" after they got out of the lift on the platform.

The pram had instantly started to roll.

It rolled off the platform and into the path of an oncoming train, which was not due to stop at the station.

Dunstan said the father, a 40-year-old from St George, jumped onto the tracks to try to save his children in an "incredibly brave and heroic act".

Police arrived to the upsetting scene, he said.

READ MORE: Travel delays at Sydney Airport as strong winds shutdown runways

"They could hear crying coming from underneath the train," he said.

Dunstan said it appeared the girl who survived was unharmed purely by luck, having been found between the tracks.

He said the family were members of the St George Indian community and the mother and surviving daughter were being supported.

NSW Premier Chris Minns also fronted media to speak on the "terrible, terrible tragedy" and share his condolences.

"I live 100m from the station," he said.

He thanked emergency services for their professionalism during "an incredibly confronting and traumatic" incident.

He said hoped the local Indian community and family could gain some solace in "knowing the father died from an extraordinary act of bravery".

Chief Executive of Sydney Trains Matt Longland also spoke to media after the tragedy.

"Our heart goes out to the families impacted," he said.

"These sorts of incidents are incredibly rare but of course, the outcomes are incredibly tragic."

Trains were suspended but have begun running again between Wolli Creek and Hurstville on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line, however they are not stopping at Carlton.

Passengers travelling to or from Carlton can catch a replacement bus service between Kogarah, Carlton and Allawah instead.