“You could hear crying coming from underneath the train,” the police superintendent said.
Though one of the children was unharmed, the other girl and her 40-year-old father had been killed.
‘Heroic act’
The father had “just gone into parent mode” and tried to save his daughters, Dunstan said.
“In doing so it’s cost him his life, but it’s an incredibly brave and heroic act by the dad.”
The mother and her surviving daughter were taken to the local St. George Hospital, and were said to be in a stable condition.
The 39-year-old mother was “in a state of shock and struggling with what’s happened” while being supported by family and friends in their local Indian community, Dunstan said.
Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, said the local community would be pained by the accident.
“I hope over time they can gain some small solace knowing that the father died from an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery,” Minns said.
“In the face of a terrible, terrible accident, he gave his own life to try and save his children.”