Security camera film of a Vangani railway station pointsman saving a 6-year-old from being killed by a train has gone viral.
The railway worker leaped into harm's way to save the boy after he fell onto the tracks.
The video shows the boy walking with his blind mother at the Mumbai station before he slipped and fell. The station's points man - known as a switchman in the west - jumped onto the tracks and rescued the boy seconds before a train arrived.
Watch the video here:
The railway worker was identified as Mayur Shelkhe. He later said he was aware of how close the train was and, at one point, feared for his own life.
"I was on the tracks. My work was to give the green signal to Udyan Express. It was just me and the stationmaster on the platform. I saw the Udyan Express heading toward the child. I had to save his life and started running toward him. Within seconds I got scared and thought of backing out. I even slowed down. But I could not see him die and started running again," Shelkhe said.
Shelkhe said he didn't tell his family about the incident. They discovered his heroism after the video went viral.
"I did not tell them for two days. But the video went viral and they called me. At first, my mother scolded me but later she said she was proud of what I did. My wife was scared too but she is happy now," Shelkhe said.
The Neral resident in the greater Mumbai area was immediately recognized. The Central Railway Mumbai Division and the Asian Institute of Transport Development praised Shelkhe and gave him a 50,000-rupee reward - equivalent to about $600, or twice the average monthly wage in the city.
