Beijing subway passengers tried to raise alarm before accident victim was dragged to her death

A witness of Thursday’s horrific accident at a Beijing Subway station that killed a woman passenger said the train started moving just five seconds after she became trapped between the train door and the platform edge door.

Liu Jun, who was waiting for a train at the door next to the victim, told the South China Morning Post that passengers on the platform tried to alert the driver by pounding on the platform doors, but to no avail.

Pan Xiaomei, 33, was killed after she became trapped in between the two sets of doors and was dragged down on to the tracks. The tragedy unfolded when she tried to board the train at Huixinxijie Nankou station on Line 5 just before 7 pm on Thursday, according to mainland media.

According to a report by news website caixin.com, a subway worker said there are sensors installed on both the train doors and the platform doors. But the sensors will only stop the doors from closing when people are stuck in the doors, not in the gap between the two doors.

“[They] should install sensors in between the train doors and the platform doors,” the worker was quoted as saying.

Liu, the witness, added: “The station was very crowded at that time. It was the rush hour, and the station is an interchange stop between Line 5 and Line 10. There were several dozen people waiting outside each door.”