Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin honoured an elderly couple for their timely action and displaying extraordinary courage in averting a major train accident after a truck fell on the railway track near Sengottai and presented them with a cheque for Rs five lakh.
Mr Stalin invited them and personally felicitated them at the State Secretariat and handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh, from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund, to them.
A couple of days back, the couple, defying their age, in a timely intervention on hearing a loud noise averted a major train mishap at Sengottai.
The couple woke up to a loud noise when a truck fell on the railway track between Bhagavathipuram and Aryankavu railway stations in the wee hours of Sunday, after hitting the crash barrier of the ghat road.
Realising the situation, they displayed extraordinary courage, and ran a few metres along the track near Bhagavathipuram railway station to stop an approaching train.
Thankfully, owing to a precautionary measure, the train was moving at 30 kmph on the ghat section and the couple’s brave act led to the crew stopping the train at a safe distance.
The obstruction was removed from the track using earth-movers and the track was cleared for rail traffic.