Indian-origin woman tries to save fallen friend on New York subway track; both killed

New York: An Indian-origin woman heroically dove onto a city subway track to save a friend who had fallen, but tragically, both were killed by an oncoming train that could not stop in time, according to police.

The tragedy, caught on an eerie video, happened early Sunday morning (local time) at a Manhattan station in the city’s metro system when both friends were waiting for a train, according to police.

Navam Kaul ended up on the track, and Malaika Chitre tried futilely to save him, police said.

Authorities said on Monday that detectives from the New York Police Department were investigating the incident.

The train operator told supervisors that after spotting them on the track, there was no time to stop the train to save them, the New York Post reported, quoting sources.

Kaul and Chitre, who grew up in nearby towns in New Jersey, had both graduated in 2024 from Rutgers University.

Rajnikant Pipalia, who told the Post his son was a friend of Kaul, said that Kaul’s family immigrated from Nepal.

Kaul and Chitre “grew up in the same world” and were part of the “same South Asian group hanging out together, enjoying the same festivals,” Pipalia told the Post.

The newspaper said that Chitre’s family “lambasted” media reports on the incident.

Some of them aired sensational speculations about them and the tragedy without factual basis.

Chitre was pursuing a doctorate in pharmacy studies at Temple University while working as a quality operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Kaul, who had a business degree, was a data analyst with Bloomberg, a financial services and news company, his LinkedIn profile said.

IANS