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4 months ago
22
Australians have rallied behind a mother who watched her husband and two-year-old daughter die when they were struck by a train shortly after learning that they could be deported in the coming days.
Anand Runwal, 40, and his wife Poonam, 39, were on a family outing with their twin daughters when the girls' pram rolled onto train tracks at Carlton Station, in Sydney's south, about 12.25pm on Sunday.
Mr Runwal heroically leapt down from the platform in a brave attempt to save his daughters, but a passing train struck and killed both the father and one of the little girls. The other child escaped virtually unscathed.
Mr Runwal and his wife Poonam had just moved from India to Sydney with their twin daughters in October 2023 after he secured a job at an IT firm in North Sydney.
Mr Runwal was in Australia on a skilled worker visa, with his wife and children listed on the same visa as dependants.
As Ms Runwal's visa is reliant on her husband's working visa, her right to stay in Australia is now at risk as she grapples with the heartbreaking tragedy.
The prospect of a grieving mother and daughter being booted from the country has been widely condemned by Australians online with many calling for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to grant them an extended stay.
'She is going through the most horrific event if her life. Please allow her to stay, to grieve, to find a way forward,' one said.
Anand Runwal (pictured with his family) died alongside one of his twin daughters on Sunday after jumping onto the train tracks at Carlton Station to rescue them
A pram carrying the twin two-year-olds had rolled onto the track and Mr Runwal bravely jumped to their rescue
'I sincerely hope our federal immigration minister will allow them to stay under compassionate grounds,' another said.
'Which representatives do we need to contact to tell them we want them to stay,' a third added.
'No, we can’t let this happen. This is so un-Australian, how can we help her, a forth asked.
The revelation comes as witness Lauren Langelaar told Daily Mail Australia how the surviving twin - who was rescued from underneath the train - had 'hardly a scratch' on her when she was eventually reunited with her distraught mother.
The little girl was released from hospital on Monday morning.
Ms Langelaar was working across the road when the tragedy unfolded. She ran to the platform after hearing the mother's screams for help.
Ms Runwal (pictured with her family) and her surviving daughter could face deportation from Australia due to visa issues
'I ran out to help the mother because I could just hear her screaming while looking down onto the tracks,' Ms Langelaar said.
'It all happened very quickly. I was down on the platform helping the mother try and scream out to her children and husband under the train.'
Ms Langelaar said a Sydney Trains worker, who was on the platform, called emergency services and explained they could 'only hear one child crying'.
When police arrived, they told Ms Langelaar to hold the mother back while officers jumped onto the tracks.
'As I sat [Ms Runwal] down, the little girl got pulled out of under the train with hardly a scratch on her, she was just crying,' Ms Langelaar said.
She said Mr Runwal 'begged' paramedics to hand over her little girl so that she could hold her but was initially denied as they assessed the toddler's injuries.
'She refused at first for paramedics to check her out, she just wanted to hold her,' Ms Langelaar said.
'Then she continued to yell out, "Where is my husband and other child?".'
Ms Langelaar said paramedics continued to assess the little girl while she was in her mother's arms as she 'didn't seem to be hurt' and only had a 'slight bump on the back of her head'.
The surviving toddler was taken to St George Hospital with her mother where they were assessed by doctors before being released.
Ms Langelaar said one man attempted to wave down the driver to alert him to the danger, but was unsuccessful.
'There was one man who apparently tried to wave the train down telling it to stop, but because it wasn't meant to stop at that station it just had no chance,' she said.
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said the parents appeared to have taken their hands off the pram for a 'very short period of time' before it rolled towards the tracks.
Mr Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the pram to roll and said it could have been something as simple as a 'gust of wind'.
NSW premier Chris Minns, who lives within 100m of the station, said the father died while performing an 'extraordinary, instinctual act of bravery'.
'He gave his own life to try and save his children,' he said.
Mr Minns described the incident as a 'terrible, terrible tragedy' for the surviving family members and first responders.
The Premier did not rule out introducing new measures to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
Harrowing accounts described Ms Runwal screaming for her family to move off the tracks while a nearby train worker told emergency services they could 'only hear one child crying' (pictured, Mr Runwal with his daughters)
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the pram to roll and said it could have been something as simple as a 'gust of wind' (pictured, mourners at the scene)
'We'll work with NSW trains and police inquiries and if changes need to be made we'll make them,' he said.
'It's too early to say, but I don't want to close the door on any changes we could make.
'Train stations can be dangerous places and we all need to be cognisant of that.'
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