Mum using mobile phone fails to see daughter falling under train in Beijing

We're all guilty of spending too much time staring at our mobile phones.

One mum at a Beijing train station was so engrossed with her smartphone on Tuesday (Oct 16) that she didn't see her daughter fall into the gap between the platform and the train.

Fortunately, a station worker saw the five-year-old fall and immediately alerted the control station.

Once he was given the go-ahead, he instructed the girl to move away from the train door while he removed a panel from the side of the vehicle.

The man later climbed under the carriage to pull the child to safety.

In a video clip taken by a train passenger, the girl could be heard crying for her mother who was visibly panicked.

Despite the scare, the girl only suffered a bump to her head.

Her mother, on the other hand, was not spared from netizens' harsh criticisms. 

They slammed the woman for not paying attention to her child. One wrote: "It's not the first time I have read this kind of news."

A moment of inattention may cost a child his life.

In Jan 2017, a four-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool even though his mother was less than 2 metres away from him.

His struggles in the water went unnoticed for about three minutes because she was busy using her mobile phone.

In Oct 2016, a two-year-old girl was killed by a car while she was walking ahead of her mother on the road. The woman was similarly preoccupied with her mobile phone.

May these incidents serve as precautionary tales for all parents when they are out and about with their kids.

ALSO READ: 8 symptoms that you're a smartphone addict

minlee@sph.com.sg