MANGALURU: A brave and alert 70-year-old woman, who has had heart surgery, ran 150 metres from her house, waved a red cloth and prevented an express train from crashing into a fallen tree on the railway tracks in the city recently. The incident occurred on March 21, but came to light recently.
The woman, Chandravathi, was honoured by the Railways on Wednesday for averting a major accident. She said she heard a loud noise like a mountain falling as she was preparing to take a nap after lunch. She immediately ran towards the railway track, which is around 150 metres from her house at Mandara near Pachanady between Padil and Jokatte.
She found a large tree lying on the track, fully covering it.
It was 2.10 pm and the thought of Matsyagandha Express train leaving Mangaluru to Mumbai in the next 10 minutes sent shivers down her spine.
Heart surgery could not crush her courage
She was aware of the train timing as her relatives from Mumbai use it regularly. Without losing hope and remembering God, she ran towards her house, grabbed a red bermuda of her grandson that was put out to dry and returned to the track. She waved it furiously as the train trundled towards the spot. It stopped at a safe distance and Chandravathi heaved a big sigh of relief.
The loco-pilot and passengers got down from the train and profusely thanked Chandravathi for her yeoman act. The train was parked at the spot till the tree was chopped and removed from the tracks and left around 3.30 pm. When the tree fell, she was alone at home as her son and grandson had gone to work and college, Chandravathi said.
`“We have no access road to the house because of the track. So, my husband used to park his vehicle at someone’s house on the other side of the track and walk home. He tripped on the track and within a few hours died,” she said.