CCTV captures final moments of dad, child before tragedy

A mum issued a harrowing plea as a pram carrying her twin girls rolled onto train tracks on Sunday, with footage capturing the moment before tragedy unfolded.

A horrified mother yelled for her husband to “save my babies” as a family outing turned to tragedy when a pram carrying twin girls rolled onto train tracks.

Police praised the “heroic and brave” actions of the father, who went to the rescue of his daughters, at Carlton train station in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

The 40-year-old man and one of the two-year-old girls were killed, while her twin sister and 39-year-old mother were not injured and were being assessed by paramedics.

The father had been attempting to rescue his children from the tracks when he was struck.

Witnesses have reported the mother was heard calling to her husband to “save my babies” as he tried to lift the pram from the tracks, according to 7News.

The family appeared happy and relaxed prior to arriving at the station. Picture: Channel 9

“Two to three minutes after a triple-0 call was made, NSW Police were on scene and were able to grab one of the survivors, a young girl, a two-year-old, from the scene and keep her safe and out of harm’s way,” NSW Premier Chris Minns told reporters at a news conference outside St George Police Station in Kogarah.

“This is a terrible terrible tragedy … obviously this is a very confronting and sad day for the St George community and obviously for that family from the Kogarah area.”

Emergency services were called to the station about 12.25pm following reports a pram carrying two children had rolled from the platform onto the tracks, NSW Police said.

CCTV shows the family heading off on their outing just minutes before the horror incident. They can be seen walking casually on the footpath, with the father holding the pram and the mother pulling a trolley bag.

The mother can be seen stopping to browse a grocery store before waiting to cross the road.

After crossing the road, they headed to an elevator to access the train platform.

They waited to cross a road. Picture: Channel 9

The family arrived in Australia from India last October, with the father working in Sydney. The local Indian community has rallied behind the family, 9 News reported.

Mr Minns praised the father for his heroic actions.

“The father died from an extraordinary instinctive act of bravery, that’s not going to bring him or his little daughter back but it shouldn’t go unremarked upon that in the face of a terrible terrible accident he gave his own life to try to save his children,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns hold a press conference in Kogarah. Picture: Jeremy Piper/NewsWire

Emergency services at Carlton train station where a man and his daughter have died. Picture: Damian Shaw

Witnesses saw a pram roll under the path of a train and called police, when they arrived they were able to located the pram and heard crying.

“Police and other emergency services responded quickly and saw the pram under the train, they could hear crying from underneath the train,” St George Police Area Commander Detective Superintendent Paul Dunstan said.

“Police then climbed under the train and rescued one of the children who was thankfully unharmed, and reunited her with her mother.

“Sadly the other child, a two-year-old female, and her father who had attempted to save the child, have passed away as a result of this incident.”

Emergency workers attended Carlton train station. Picture: Damian Shaw

Witnesses on board the train reported feeling a ‘rattle’. Picture: Damian Shaw

He said the family had caught the lift down to the platform and it appeared they took their hands off the pram for a very short period of time when it rolled towards the train lines.

One line of enquiry will be whether the pram rolled due to a wind gust.

“He’s gone into parent mode and tried to save his two young daughters that have fallen onto the tracks and in doing so it’s cost his life, but it’s an incredibly brave and heroic act,” Superintendent Dunstan said.

The other daughter had fallen between the tracks and was “lucky” to have escaped injury, he added.

The mother is in a state of shock.

“She’s a member of the local Indian community, so she’s being well supported up there by her friends and family. She’s clearly in a state of shock and struggling with what’s happened today.”

A crime scene was established. Picture: 7News

The pram rolled onto the tracks. Picture: 7News

The train was not due to stop at the station, and appeared to have slowed.

Passengers were evacuated 20 minutes later.

A fire and rescue crew were seen jumping onto the train tracks to start the process of removing the bodies from under the train, more than two hours after the tragedy struck.

Footage has been shared with police. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Chief Executive of Sydney Trains Matt Longland said these kind of incidents are “incredibly rare” but the outcomes are “tragic”.

He said footage of the station had been shared with NSW Police to “understand the nature of the incident”.

Train staff are being supported by Sydney Trains.

The National Rail Safety Regulator had also been informed.

Officers attached to St George Police Area Command have established a crime scene.

“The incident is not believed to be suspicious at this time,” NSW Police said.

“A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.”

The public has been urged to avoid the area and replacement buses have been deployed.

Commuters should visit the Transport for NSW website for the most up-to-date information.

Mr Minns urged those traumatised by the tragedy to seek help from the NSW mental health line 1800 011 511 or Beyond Blue.