A heartbroken mother who lost her husband and baby daughter in a horrific train crash over the weekend has urged people not to raise money for her broken family, fearing their tragic deaths are being exploited by unscrupulous online scammers.
Poonam Runwal pleads as members of her extended family – including her sister and brother-in-law – fly to Sydney on Tuesday night to help her cope with the devastating ordeal.
The 39-year-old was on a family outing with her husband Anand, 40, who is also an IT engineer, and her two-year-old daughters Hilal and Hiya on Sunday when the girls’ stroller rolled onto the train tracks at Carlton station in Sydney’s south at about 12.25pm.
Mr. Runwal desperately jumped onto the tracks in a heroic attempt to save his daughters before a passing train struck and killed him and one of the little girls, Hilal. Her sister, Hiya, escaped with little harm.
Nadeen Ahmed, who runs the Facebook group Indians in Sydney, said the entire community was shocked by the tragedy and was supporting Ms Runwal in every way possible.
“It’s a very difficult situation because they only moved here in October last year, so she has no family here to help her,” Ahmed told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Since then the woman has been part of our group and we are doing everything we can to care for her and for her and her (still living) daughter.
Anand, 40, and Poonam Runwal, 39, were together for 14 years
“We even started organizing a fundraiser for them, but the family contacted us and asked us not to do that.”
He said the family was deeply concerned that online scammers would exploit the deaths of Mr Runwal and Hilal by setting up fake fundraising accounts designed to defraud genuine donors.
“The family didn’t want anyone to use this tragedy to steal money from people,” he said. “I don’t think they could stand to see fake fundraising accounts online.”
Instead, he said Mr Runwal’s employer, Infosys, had generously offered to help the family with their current expenses and funeral arrangements.
“They are taking care of all the formalities and expenses. They (Infosys) have even appointed a lady to be with the family to ensure that everything is taken care of,” he said.
“We also want to make sure that the family’s wishes are respected and ask that no one raises money for them without their express permission, but that you keep them in your prayers for now.”
An Infosys spokesperson said everyone at the company was heartbroken by the tragedy and was doing everything they could to help Mr Runwal’s family.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of our colleague and his young child last Sunday,” the spokesperson said.
Our prayers are with his wife, his other child, his extended family and colleagues.
“We are offering his family every support at this time of grief and are also in contact with local authorities.”
Westpac, where Mr Runwal worked as an IT consultant at Infosys, has also offered to help his widow and surviving young daughter.
“Anand was a beloved member of our technology team and worked with us as one of our IT service providers,” said Scott Collary, Westpac’s Chief Information Officer.
‘We are devastated by this tragic accident and our condolences go out to Anand’s family and friends at this difficult time.
“We offer our support to his family and his colleagues here at Westpac. He will be greatly missed.”
Former neighbour Benzin told Daily Mail Australia the couple, who had been together for 14 years, struggled to start a family before welcoming their two miracle babies.
He described Hinal and Hiya as ‘happy, gentle, little girls’.
“I think they had been trying to have children for about 10 years. They were married for a long time and were a happy family,” he said.
The twins always wore matching clothes.
“They loved coming over and playing with our son – he’s four and the girls are two – so we gave them a lot of his old toys.”
Benzin described the family as “very friendly” and said Mrs Runwal was a great cook and the children were often at each other’s homes.
Benzin burst into tears and said he found it difficult to explain to his son what had happened.
“He keeps asking to see the girls. He’s only four – it’s too hard for him to understand, so we told him they’ve moved back to India,” he said.
‘When we heard the news yesterday, I checked WhatsApp and saw that Anand had not checked WhatsApp since 11:30 am.
“And then we went by their house to see if they were home. When we knocked on the door and there was no answer, we knew it wasn’t good news.”
In February, Mrs Runwal, originally from Rajasthan, and Mr Runwal, who grew up in Bangalore, celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary.
Ms Runwal shared a photo of the couple at Camp Cove Beach at Watsons Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, writing: “Happy wedding day my everything.”
Other online posts show the family making the most of their time in Australia, regularly hiring cars and drivers for weekend trips from Sydney, including to Kiama on the South Coast and the Hunter Valley.
Hinal (left) and Hiya (right) Runwal
Friends of the family have revealed that they tried to have children for almost a decade before welcoming their miracle twins
The revelation comes after Daily Mail Australia reported that Ms Runwal and Hiya could face deportation in the coming days as a result of the tragedy.
The family moved to Sydney from India in October 2023 after Mr Runwal found a job with an IT company in North Sydney. Ms Runwal and the girls were listed as dependents on his skilled worker visa.
The visa was due to expire on August 1 and Mr Runwal was in the process of renewing it.
Five weeks ago, Mr Runwal sought advice on Facebook about the procedure for applying for expedited passports for him and his wife, as they were needed to apply for a new visa.
‘My visa expires on August 1, 2024, while my passport is [an] “Expiration date February 2025,” he wrote.
‘According to my employer, my passport must be valid for at least 12 months from today to renew my visa.’
Because Ms Runwal’s visa is dependent on her husband’s work visa, her right to remain in Australia is now at risk as she grapples with this heartbreaking tragedy.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment. They are investigating the matter.
The family had just arrived at the platform after going down in the elevator when the stroller rolled onto the tracks.
Witnesses said Mr Runwal acted heroically, jumping onto the tracks in a desperate attempt to save his daughters. He was trying to lift the pram back onto the platform when he was hit.
The twins’ father heroically jumped onto the tracks to save his daughters, but was struck by a passing train, killing him and one of the little girls
Lauren Langelaar was working across the road when the tragedy unfolded. She ran to the platform after hearing the mother scream for help.
“I ran outside to help the mother because I could hear her screaming as I was looking at the tracks,” Ms Langelaar told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It all happened very quickly. I was standing on the platform helping the mother who was trying to scream at her children and husband under the train.’
Ms Langelaar said a Sydney Trains employee who was on the platform called emergency services and said they “only heard one child crying”.
When the police arrived, they told Mrs. Langelaar to hold the mother while the officers jumped onto the tracks.
‘While I was sitting [Ms Runwal] “When the girl came down, she was pulled out from under the train, she barely had a scratch on her face, she was just crying,” said Mrs Langelaar.
She said Mr Runwal “begged” emergency workers to hand over her daughter so she could hold her, but was initially refused when the toddler’s injuries were assessed.
“At first she didn’t want the emergency services to examine her, they just wanted to hold her,” said Mrs Langelaar.
A woman, Lauren Langelaar, ran to the platform after hearing the mother’s screams and had to hold her while emergency services searched for her husband and children
Flowers were laid at Carlton train station for the heroic father and his daughter who were killed by the train
‘Then she kept shouting, ‘Where are my husband and my other child?’.’
Ms Langelaar said paramedics continued to examine the girl as she lay in her mother’s arms as she ‘did not appear to be injured’ and only had a ‘slight bump on the back of her head’.
The surviving child was taken with her mother to St. George’s Hospital, where they were examined by doctors before being discharged.
New South Wales Police Chief Paul Dunstan said the parents appeared to have only taken their hands off the stroller “momentarily” before it rolled towards the tracks.
Mr Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the pram to roll, and it may have been something as simple as a ‘gust of wind’.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who lives less than 100 metres from the station, said the father died in an “extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery”.
“He gave his own life to save his children,” he said.