The prime minister has offered his heartfelt support to the widow who lost her husband and daughter in a horror train accident at the weekend, urging his Home Affairs Minister to treat her family with generosity and compassion.
Anthony Albanese‘s comments come after Daily Mail Australia revealed Poonam Runwal was facing deportation in the wake of the Carlton train tragedy that claimed the lives of her husband and young twin daughter.
She was reliant on her husband’s working visa to remain in Australia, but that was due to expire next week.
Sympathetic locals have thrown their support for the heartbroken mum to be allowed to remain in the country, and now the PM has backed her case too.
‘It is a decision, obviously, for the Minister, but it’s my view that matters like this should be dealt with the compassion that Australians would expect,’ Mr Albanese told a press conference on Thursday.
‘This mother has watched as her husband and one of her twin children has tragically lost their life and I would have thought that we’re a generous country and that Australians’ hearts will go out towards this woman and her young child.’
The shattered family have attracted an outpouring of emotion across the country since Mr Runwal died while heroically attempting to save the lives of his two twin daughters during a family outing on Sunday.
The Runwals had arrived at Carlton Station, in Sydney‘s south, about 12.25pm, and were getting out of station elevator and onto the platform, when they momentarily took their hands off the girls’ pram.
Anand Runwal (right) and wife Poonam Runwal with their two-year-old twin daughters
Harrowing CCTV footage shows the young family’s final moments together before they were ripped apart in an unimaginable tragedy when their pram rolled onto the train track
In an instant, their daughters’ stroller rolled away and dropped onto the train tracks.
Mr Runwal leapt down the tracks in a bid to rescue his little girls but was struck by a passing train while trying to wrestle their pram back onto the platform.
One of the twins, Hinal, also died in the ordeal, while her twin sister miraculously survived after rolling under the train.
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan said the parents appeared to have taken their hands off the pram for a ‘very short period of time’ when it rolled towards the tracks.
Supt Dunstan said police were investigating what caused the pram to roll and said it could have been something as simple as a ‘gust of wind’.
The family moved to Sydney from India in October 2023 after Mr Runwal secured a job with IT firm Infosys on a skilled workers visa.
His visa was due to expire on August 1 and he was in the process of having it renewed.
Mr Runwal sought advice on Facebook five weeks ago about the process for obtaining fast-tracked passports so he could complete the application.
‘My visa is going to expire on Aug 1 2024, whereas my passport has [an] expiry date of February 2025,’ he wrote.
‘As per my employer, I need to have at least 12 months expiry date from today on my passport to extend my visa.’
As she was listed as a dependent on her husband’s working visa, Ms Runwal’s right to stay in Australia is now at risk as she grapples with the heartbreaking tragedy.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for a response to the Prime Minister’s comments.
Police investigation the scene of the terrible tragedy in Sydney’s south
Despite an outpouring of support from across the country, Ms Runwal’s family have appealed to the public to refrain from attempting to raise funds for them on the internet, fearing online scammers would try to exploit her husband and daugher’s tragic deaths by posting fake accounts designed to steal genuine supporters’ money.
Instead, Mr Runwal’s employer, Infosys, has been assisting the family with their ongoing expenses and help them take care of all funeral arrangements.
She has also been offered additional support from Westpac, where her husband worked as an IT consultant provided by Infosys.
NSW premier Chris Minns, who lives within 100m of the station, has said the father died while performing an ‘extraordinary, instinctual act of bravery’.
‘He gave his own life to try and save his children,’ he said.
