3 passengers injured after boulder falls on Mumbai-bound train near Lonavla

At least three passengers were injured during the wee hours of Monday after a boulder fell on a coach of the Mumbai-bound Hubballi-LTT Express near Lonavla in Mumbai division of Central Railway.

The large rock came crashing on the train when it was moving at a restricted speed between Monkey Hill and Thakurwadi stations around 5.30 am, Central Railway’s Chief PRO Sunil Udasi said.

The boulder pierced the roof of the train and fell in the middle of S6 coach injuring three passengers, he said.

Following the incident, the train was taken to Karjat where the boulder was removed. Meanwhile, the injured persons were admitted to a railway hospital in neighbouring Thane district’s Kalyan township.

The injured passengers were identified as Mumbai resident Shivprasad Hiremath (27), and Hussan Beloki (59) and Mohammed Asif (25) of Hubballi. Although one of them was later shifted to a private hospital, all three are out of danger.

The mishap occurred in the Lonavla-Karjat ghat section, one of the more trickier sections of the Indian Railways. The stretch incidentally worsens during monsoon when heavy rainfall loosens the soil, leading to landslides.

Senior officials of the Central Railway, including General Manager D.K Sharma, rushed to the spot to take stock of the incident.

Rail traffic between Mumbai and Pune was briefly affected. However, operations soon returned to normalcy.

“No train was held up due to the incident as the track was declared safe for the movement of trains. The affected train later moved to Karjat from where it left for its final destination, Mumbai,” Udasi added.