12-Year-Old Bihar Boy Uses Red Towel To Stop Train From Derailment

Exhibiting great bravery and quick thinking, a 12-year-old boy managed to prevent a potential train accident in Bihar’s Samastipur. Identified as Mohammad Shahbaz, the little boy used a red towel to alert the approaching train as a warning flag after he noticed a section of railway tracks had sustained significant damage. The incident took place near Bhola Talkies Gumti on the Muzaffarpur Railway line. Shahbaz, along with his friends, were passing by when they saw the broken tracks with a speeding train coming from one side.

In a quick reaction, he took out his red towel and started waving it toward the train. Luckily, the vigilant locomotive pilot caught sight of the impromptu red flag and initiated brakes, averting a major accident and saving the lives of the passengers aboard the Howrah-Kothgodam Express.

Speaking on the same, Shahbaz shared details of how he and his friends managed to prevent the accident. “We were going home when we saw the broken railway tracks. As we saw a train approaching, I used my red towel to wave at the loco pilot who saw me and stopped the train,” the boy says in a now-viral video. According to reports, railway officials also arrived at the spot and started the repair work. Before that, some trains, including the Amrapali Express, Mithila Express, Bagh Express, Ahmedabad Sabarmati Express, Samastipur-Muzaffarpur MEMU Special, New Delhi Clone Special, and others, had already passed through.

According to Samastipur Town, 12-year-old Mohammad Shahbaz was felicitated for his bravery and sense of public awareness and rewarded with chocolate, a notebook, and a pen. Internet users also lauded the boy’s efforts, taking it to the comment section. A user wrote, “This brave child should be honored with child bravery award at the national level,” while another commented, “We appreciate this type of future for our nation.”

Bengal Boy Averts Train Accident

Another similar incident was reported from West Bengal’s Malda in 2023 when a little boy used his red t-shirt to stop an approaching train that was speeding towards damaged railway tracks. Named Musaleen Sheikh, the son of a migrant worker who was employed at the yard, the boy was present with some of the workers when he noticed the damaged tracks. He immediately took off his red t-shirt and waved it at the train, signing for it to stop. The pilot noticed the signal and applied the emergency brakes.

While the damaged part was repaired and operations were normally resumed, the boy was honoured with a certificate of bravery and also rewarded with a cash prize.