By Shankar Raj*
Thiruvananthapuram: In a freak mishap, a 62-year-old man from Kerala died after the middle sleeper berth in the train he was travelling in came off the latches and crashed on him.
According to reports reaching here, the accident took place Friday, June 21, 2024, inside the Hazrat Nizamuddin bound Millennium Superfast Express, which started its journey from Ernakulam, and the deceased was identified as Ali Khan from Ponnani in Malappuram district.
Khan was travelling to Delhi and the train was near Warangal in Telangana when the tragedy occurred. He was rushed to a hospital in Warangal and later shifted to the KIMS Multispeciality Hospital in Hyderabad, where he underwent three major surgeries. However, he succumbed to injuries.
The body was sent to Ponnani for his funeral, which took place Wednesday.
Railway authorities inspected the berth and issued a clarification stating that the sleeper berth did not malfunction. “Ali Khan was assigned seat number 57 in the S6 coach (lower berth). The passenger in the middle berth had upgraded to a third AC coach, and the middle berth was not latched properly, which led to the accident,” a statement said.
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
