Indian-origin woman, friend killed by New York subway train in apparent rescue attempt

Dubai: An Indian-origin woman and her Nepali-American friend were killed by an oncoming subway train in New York after one apparently went onto the tracks and the other tried to help, according to US media reports.

The victims, both 24, were identified as Malaika Chitre of Dayton, New Jersey, and Navam Kaul of Sayreville, New Jersey. Both had attended Rutgers University.

The tragedy unfolded at the Spring Street subway station in Lower Manhattan in the early hours of Sunday, when the pair ended up on the tracks in the path of an approaching downtown No. 4 train.

Police were alerted at about 3.14am after the train operator spotted the two people on the tracks and activated the emergency brakes but was unable to stop in time, the New York Daily News reported.

Both Chitre and Kaul died at the scene.

What happened on the tracks?

The precise sequence of events remains unclear.

The New York Post, citing law-enforcement sources, reported that Kaul may have fallen or made his way onto the tracks first, prompting Chitre to climb down in an apparent attempt to help him.

Video of the moments before the collision has circulated online and appears to show one of the victims attempting to pull the other towards safety as the train approached.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also said Chitre was seen trying to pull Kaul towards her shortly before the train arrived, according to media reports.

Authorities have not, however, definitively established how the pair initially came to be on the tracks.

Their bodies were recovered from beneath the third and fourth cars of the train, according to the Daily News.

About 100 passengers were reportedly aboard the subway at the time. They were evacuated onto the platform following the collision.

Train operator hit emergency brakes

The train operator saw Chitre and Kaul on the tracks as the subway approached Spring Street and attempted an emergency stop.

But the train could not halt before striking them.

Four of the train’s 10 cars had entered the station by the time it came to a stop, according to the Daily News.

Former Rutgers students

Chitre and Kaul had both studied at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Chitre graduated in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences. Her LinkedIn profile listed her as an operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals.

Kaul attended Rutgers Business School in New Brunswick between autumn 2020 and spring 2024, according to the Daily News. His LinkedIn profile listed him as a financial data analyst at Bloomberg.

“We are saddened to learn of the tragic death of these two former students,” Dory Devlin, Rutgers’ assistant vice president of news and media relations, was quoted as saying.

The deaths have drawn particular attention because of the apparent attempt by one friend to save the other in the seconds before the train reached the station.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances that led to the two friends being on the tracks.