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1 Killed, 1 Injured In Separate Accidents At Same Subway Station

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The tragedies underground continue.

One man was killed and another was injured Tuesday night when they were involved in accidents involving separate trains inside an East Harlem train station.

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Police Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Paul Browne said it started on a No. 5 train on the uptown express tracks.

1 Killed, 1 Injured In Separate Accidents At Same Subway Station

Around 4 p.m., a man, who was believed to be homeless and in his 50s, found himself on the tracks in the confines of the 125th Street station for unknown reasons.

The man was apparently struck and injured by the 5 as he tried to get back onto the platform, though it's possible he actually injured himself when he fell because police told 1010 WINS the man was so drunk that he did not even remember being on the tracks. Either way, he suffered a broken pelvis and gashes to his buttocks and right leg, and was reported in serious, but stable condition at an area hospital.

Ten minutes later, the other 31-year-old man, who was said to be from the Bronx and had been on a northbound No. 6 train across the platform, decided to step between two cars to defecate.

"When he's doing that, he falls into the track bed and is killed by the same train he is on," Browne said.

Earlier reports that the two men were involved in a dispute that led to the accident were not accurate.

As of the evening rush, there was no No. 6 line service between 96th Street in Manhattan and 3rd Avenue-138th Street in the Bronx. Northbound trains were terminating at 96th Street, while southbound trains were halted at 138th Street.

Some northbound No. 5 trains were rerouted to the No. 2 line between Nevins Street in Brooklyn and 149th Street-Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

Delays were expected on the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 lines.

Multiple incidents of people being struck and killed by subway trains have splashed across the New York headlines over the past couple of months. In two incidents, riders were pushed in front of oncoming trains.

In response to the incidents, fliers were distributed last week by the Transport Workers Union Local 100 asking train operators to "enter every station as if there is a pair of yellow lanterns at the entrance.''

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