Horror as woman is trapped in train doors and DRAGGED along platform as driver eats lunch

Belarussian national Natalya Garkovich suffered potentially life-changing injuries after her handbag strap got caught in a train door in Rome. 

Frantic commuters tried to prise the 43-year-old free while others attempted to alert the driver as Ms Garkovich fell to the floor as the carriage pulled away. 

CCTV from the busy platform in Rome shows the train arriving and commuters getting on and off, while Ms Garkovich attempts to enter through one set of doors but then steps back out. 

But her strap gets caught as the doors shut and was too thin to trigger the sensors, which would have automatically alerted the driver.

Oblivious to the trapped passenger, driver Gianluca Tonelli begins to pull away to the horror of those on the platform.

As the train gathers speed Ms Garkovich is dragged to the floor and along the platform, reportedly breaking her back and puncturing her lung. 

As well as the efforts of passengers on the platform Ms Garkovich was only saved when a passenger inside the train spotted her struggling to get free and pulled the emergency stop. 

It is unclear whether it stopped before going into the underground tunnel. 

It was later claimed Mr Tonelli was eating a sandwich while operating the controls. 

He is currently under investigation over the incident, but denied he was being ‘reckless’ while eating his lunch and driving simultaneously. 

He said: “I am devastated by what happened to that woman.

“But in the video it can also be seen that I look twice in the mirror, I was not reckless.

“The lady made a strange manouvre up and down, the security system has not reported anything to me and I left. 

“Now the most important thing is that she recovers soon.”