Kerala man dies after train berth falls on him

KOZHIKODE/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a freak accident, a train passenger hailing from Maranchery near Ponnani in Malappuram died after the middle berth of the train fell on him. His funeral was held on Wednesday morning.
Maradikkal Ali Khan, 62, was travelling to Delhi on train no. 12645 Millennium Superfast Express (Ernakulam - Hazrat Nizamuddin) when the mishap occurred near Ramagundam station in Telangana on June 15 evening.
Khan was laying down on the lower berth when the middle berth fell on him because of which three of his neck bones were fractured, leaving his hands and legs paralysed.He was rushed to a hospital at Warangal and shifted to Kings multi-speciality hospital in Hyderabad. Though a surgery was performed on him on Friday, he died on Monday.
The body was brought to his house at Maranchery on Tuesday and the funeral was held at the burial grounds of Kunnath Juma Masjid at Vadamukku on Wednesday morning.
Improper chaining, says railways
Meanwhile, railway authorities said that Khan was traveling on seat no. 57 (lower berth) of S6 coach and the mishap happened due to improper chaining of the upper (middle) berth. "The upper berth fell down due to improper placement of chains. Due to improper chaining of the seat by passenger, the seat fell down," spokesperson of railways said in a statement.
The seat was checked at Nizamuddin station and was found to have no defect, the statement added.
Railways said on getting a message at Ramagundam station at 6.34 pm on June 15, the on-duty station master immediately arranged for assistance by 108 ambulance and the train made an unscheduled stoppage at Ramagundam.
Khan is survived by his wife Shakeela and daughter Shaza.