Two people of Indian-origin were fatally struck by a New York City subway train after they were seen sitting on the tracks at a Manhattan station early Sunday (EDT).
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Malaika Chitre and Navam Kaul, both 24, were on the tracks at Spring Street station in downtown Manhattan shortly after 3am when a No 4 train approached, according to an incident report obtained by the New York Daily News.
The train operator told supervisors that she saw the pair sitting on the tracks and tried to stop the train. The report said the woman was laughing and appeared to be pulling the man towards her when the train hit them.
It was not immediately clear whether Kaul had fallen onto the tracks or climbed down, while Chitre appeared to have tried to pull him towards her, police sources told the New York Post.
Video circulating on social media appeared to show the pair sitting on the tracks shortly before the collision. AmNewYork reported that the train operator activated the emergency brake but was unable to stop the train in time.
Emergency responders found both victims underneath the train and pronounced them dead at the scene. Around 100 passengers were evacuated from the train after the collision, the Daily News reported.
According to the Post, investigators are examining whether the pair may have been so intoxicated that they failed to realise the approaching train posed an immediate danger. No suicide notes were found, though suicide had not been ruled out as a possible motive, the newspaper reported.
The two were longtime friends and had both graduated from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 2024, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
The New York Police Department had not immediately provided further information to The Independent.
