Australians are questioning why a Vietnamese woman went to retrieve a lost item from the tracks before being fatally hit by a train in Sydney.
Tuyet Nguyen, 52, was on holiday in Sydney to visit family when she was hit by the train at Punchbowl station on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Nguyen is believed to have dropped her shoe and stepped onto the track, but was unable to return to the platform before the train arrived.
An eight-car train travelling at 100 kilometres can take 500 metres to stop, so even if the train driver had seen her on the tracks, he would not have been able to stop in time.
It is illegal to enter the rail corridor unless you are walking or driving across a grade crossing.
Many Australian incidents could have been avoided if she had asked for help to recover the lost item.
“I can’t understand why he didn’t go to the train guard and let them take care of getting his shoe back. It was such an unnecessary tragedy and such a traumatic death,” one person said.
“May he rest in peace and I ask his family for my condolences, but it was actually because of a shoe. I can’t help but feel sad and angry at the same time,” said another person.
Ms Nguyen (pictured) is believed to have dropped her shoe and climbed onto the track, but was unable to return to the platform before the train arrived.
A third added: It’s sad that one sneaker has caused pain and trauma to countless people.
“The girl’s family, the train driver, their families, the first responders, the witnesses, their families, the people who were on the train. The effects of this will be felt for years.”
Although his actions raised questions, many sympathised and suggested he may not have been aware of the risks of walking on the tracks.
“In Vietnam, they have this slow-moving train at ground level, where all the markets are, and it just drives by,” one said.
‘Ours are not designed in the same way and there is no exit or safe, accessible space for people to go to if they fall off the platforms.’
Others said commuters should think about how their actions affect train drivers.
“People always seem to forget the impact this has on the driver,” one person wrote.
A second added: “Hope the triathlon driver is okay, it’s not his fault.”
Emergency services were called to the station and NSW Fire and Rescue crews (pictured) worked to free the woman from beneath the train.
Another added: “The driver and emergency crews also have to deal with this unnecessary death.
‘My condolences to his family, but let this be a lesson to us all. Trains are not cars, they do not stop suddenly, it takes hundreds of metres for the brakes to stop a train.’
The tragedy occurred during rush hour when authorities shut down trains between Campsie and Bankstown in Sydney’s inner west as emergency crews worked to free Ms Nguyen from beneath the locomotive.
She was immediately taken to an ambulance before being taken to St George’s Hospital, but died there on Wednesday morning.
Police have spoken to several witnesses and reviewed CCTV as part of their investigations.
The train driver tested negative for alcohol.
On Wednesday, Ms Nguyen’s nephew, Toan Huyn, told the Daily Mail Australia that his aunt spent holidays in Australia, where his sister lives, every year.
Ms Nguyen regularly shared photos of her visits to Sydney on social media, including a holiday in 2022 and a trip last year, where she posted images of the Opera House.