Australians have rallied to support a mother who watched her husband and two-year-old daughter die when they were hit by a train shortly after learning 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 overturned onto the train tracks at Carlton station in Sydney’s south at about 12.25pm on Sunday.
Mr Runwal heroically jumped off the platform in a brave attempt to save his daughters, but a passing train ran over and killed both the father and one of the girls. The other girl escaped virtually unharmed.
Mr Runwal and his wife Poonam had just moved from India to Sydney with their twin daughters in October 2023 after landing a job at an IT company in North Sydney.
Mr Runwal was in Australia on a skilled worker visa, and his wife and children were listed on the same visa as dependents.
As Ms Runwal’s visa is dependent on her husband’s work visa, her right to remain in Australia is now at risk as she faces this heartbreaking tragedy.
The prospect of a grieving mother and daughter being deported from the country has been widely condemned by Australians online, with many calling on Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to grant them an extended stay.
“He is going through the most horrible event of his life. Please allow him to stay, grieve and find a way to move on,” one of them 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 two-year-old twins had overturned on the track and Mr Runwal bravely jumped in to rescue them.
“I sincerely hope our federal immigration minister will allow them to stay on humanitarian grounds,” said another.
“Which representatives should we contact to tell them we want them to stay?” added a third.
“No, we can’t let this happen. This is not like Australia. How can we help her?” asked a fourth.
The revelation comes as witness Lauren Langelaar told Daily Mail Australia how the surviving twin, who was rescued from beneath the train, “barely had a scratch” when she was finally reunited with her distraught mother.
The girl was discharged from the hospital on Monday morning.
Mrs Langelaar was working across the street when the tragedy occurred. She ran to the platform after hearing the mother’s cries for help.
Ms Runwal (pictured with her family) and her surviving daughter could face deportation from Australia due to visa issues.
“I ran to help the mother because I could hear her screaming as she looked toward the tracks,” Langelaar said.
“It all happened very quickly. I was on the platform helping the mother shout to her children and husband who were under the train.”
Ms Langelaar said a Sydney Trains worker, who was on the platform, called emergency services and explained that “all they could hear was a child crying”.
When police arrived, Ms Langelaar was told to hold the mother back while officers jumped onto the tracks.
“When I sat down (with Ms Runwal), the little girl came out from under the train with hardly a scratch on her, she was just crying,” Langelaar said.
She said Mr Runwal “begged” paramedics to hand over his little girl so he could hold her, but was initially refused while they assessed the child’s injuries.
“At first she refused to let the paramedics examine her, she just wanted to hug her,” Langelaar said.
She then continued shouting: “Where are my husband and my other son?”
Ms Langelaar said paramedics continued to assess the girl while she was in her mother’s arms as she “did not appear to be injured” and only had a “mild bump to the back of the head”.
The surviving girl was taken to St George’s Hospital with her mother, where they were assessed by doctors before being discharged.
Ms Langelaar said a man tried to flag down the driver to warn him of the danger but was unsuccessful.
“There was one man who apparently tried to flag down the train, but since it wasn’t scheduled to stop at that station, he just didn’t stand a chance,” he said.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said the parents apparently took their hands off the stroller for “a very brief period” before it rolled onto the tracks.
Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the stroller to tip over and said it could have been something as simple as a “gust of wind.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who lives 100 metres from the station, said the father died while carrying out an “extraordinary and instinctive act of bravery”.
“He gave his own life to try to save his children,” he said.
Mr Minns described the incident as a “terrible, terrible tragedy” for surviving relatives and first responders.
The Prime Minister did not rule out introducing new measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
Harrowing accounts describe Ms Runwal screaming for her family to get away from the tracks while a nearby train worker told emergency services they could “just hear a child crying” (pictured, Mr Runwal with his daughters).
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the pram to overturn and said it could have been something as simple as a “gust of wind” (pictured, mourners at the scene)
“We will work with NSW Rail and police investigations and if changes are needed we will make them,” he said.
It’s too early to tell, but I don’t want to close the door on any changes we can make.
«Train stations can be dangerous places and we should all be aware of that.»