HOOGHLY: A 53-year-old tourist from Hooghly district died on Wednesday evening while trying to take a selfie and slipped off the toy train in Darjeeling. Pradeep Saxena, a trader, was taken to Darjeeling hospital where he succumbed to his injuries while he was being shifted to another hospital in the hills.
Police said Saxena, his wife and daughter were on a trip to Darjeeling and other parts of the hills during Durga Puja vacation. The family boarded the train from Ghum railway station and was heading towards Darjeeling.
"Standing on the footboard of the train, Saxena was trying to take a selfie. He suddenly lost balance and slipped off the train,’’ said an officer of Darjeeling police station. "As the other commuters raised hue and cry, the driver stopped the train. Saxena was rescued with severe injuries on all over his body.’’
Saxena was rushed to Darjeeling hospital but the doctors decided to shift him to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, a four-hour drive, as his condition was deteriorating.
"On the way to the hospital in Siliguri, Saxena was taken to Kurseong sub-divisional hospital as his condition kept getting worse. He was declared dead on arrival at the sub-divisional hospital,’’ said state tourism minister Gautam Deb.
The post-mortem was conducted at the Siliguri hospital and the Deb made arrangements to transport the body to Saxena’s house at Rishra in Hooghly.