Man’s miraculous escape: Lies on track as train speeds over him in Kerala

PTI, Dec 24, 2024, 4:30 PM IST

representative image (istock)

Kannur (Kerala): A heart-stopping video has surfaced from the Kannur district in Kerala, capturing a man’s miraculous escape from an oncoming train.

The viral footage shows the man lying on the tracks as a train sped over him near Kannur. He remained crouched without lifting his head until the train passed, after which he got up and walked away unharmed.

The incident occurred around 5 pm on Monday between Kannur and Chirakkal railway stations, as the Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram train passed through the area.

Following the video’s widespread circulation on social media, railway police identified the man as 56-year-old Pavithran, described as being of “small stature.” A railway police official stated that Pavithran’s statement had been recorded.

According to the police, Pavithran claimed he had been talking on his phone and did not notice the train approaching. When he realised the danger, he had no time to escape and, in a split-second decision, lay down on the track, narrowly avoiding a fatal collision.

“We were also surprised to see the video. He survived because of his small physical stature,” the police official told PTI.

As the video circulated, rumours emerged suggesting a drunken person had been lying on the tracks and later walked away.

“I was not drunk; I lay on the tracks to save my life,” clarified Pavithran, who works as a cleaner for a school vehicle, and admitted he was “shaken by the incident”.

“I still haven’t recovered from the fear,” he added.