A 6-month-old baby miraculously survived a train hitting his stroller that had rolled onto the tracks with only a bump on his head, officials said on friday.
The child, who was strapped into his stroller when the accident occurred, was dragged about 35 metres (yards) by the train as it pulled into Ashburton station in Melbourne’s east on Thursday afternoon, before it stopped.
“The pram rolled a very short distance straight over the edge of the platform and onto the tracks right as the train was coming in,” Connex trains spokesman John Rees said.
“The baby has gotten away with just a cut on the forehead.”
Security video footage released Friday shows the mother looking away for a moment when the stroller suddenly rolls off the edge of a station platform and onto the tracks. The mother panics as she looks back and sees the oncoming train hit the stroller, but the baby boy survived with only minor injuries.
Rees said the driver slammed on the brakes as hard as possible as soon as he saw the pram tumble in front of him, and was aided by the fact that the train was slowing down as it entered the station.
Paramedics, who arrived to find the baby being comforted by his mother, confirmed the child received a bump on his head.
“Luckily he was strapped into his pram at the time, which probably saved his life,” paramedic Jon Wright said in a statement.
Victoria state Police Sergeant Michael Ferwerda called Thursday’s incident a “lucky escape” and said people should be cautious in train stations.
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