A father’s bravery is being remembered amid a “terrible, terrible tragedy” that claimed the life of him and one of his young daughters.
Witnesses watched in horror on as a pram carrying two two-year-old girls rolled onto the tracks at Carlton Railway Station as an oncoming train bore down on Sunday afternoon.
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The girls’ father, 40, jumped onto the tracks and tried to save his daughters, as bystanders tried to flag the train down, but it was too late.
He and the pram were struck by the train. He and one of the girls were killed.
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan told reporters several hours after the tragedy that responding officers could hear crying from underneath the train.
He said the parents had arrived on the platform via an elevator and taken their hands off the pram for “a very, very short period of time” when it began to roll.
“Whether it’s a gust of wind … we’re not quite sure. But it appears that the pram has instantly started to roll in the direction of the train lines.”
Dunstan described the father who jumped onto the tracks as having gone into “parent mode”.
“Police responded, and other emergency services responded quickly, and saw the pram under the train, and could hear crying coming from underneath the train,” he said.
“Police climbed under the train and rescued one of the children, who was thankfully unharmed, and reunited her with the mother.
“Sadly, the other child, a two-year-old female, and her father who attempted to save the child, have passed away as a result of this incident.”
The train was not due to stop at Carlton but had slowed to pass through, as is protocol.
Chief Executive of Sydney Trains Matt Longland said all relevant information will be made available to police for them to carry out a full investigation.
The National Rail Safety Regulator had also been informed.
“We’ll all await the outcomes of the police investigation to enable us to understand what went on at the station.”
Longland said the train driver and other staff were being supported.
Premier Chris Minns described the incident as a “terrible, terrible tragedy”.
“This is a very confronting and sad day for the St George community,” he said.
“I hope over time they can gain some small solace knowing that the father died from an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery.
“That’s not going to bring him or his little daughter back. But it shouldn’t go unremarked upon in the face of a terrible, terrible accident, he gave his own life to try and save his children.”
The public has been asked to avoid the train station.
The investigation is ongoing, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
The T4 line was disrupted following the incident, with trains not running between Wolli Creek and Hurstville for about three hours.
They resumed shortly before 3pm, but weren’t stopping at Carlton as police continued their investigation.
