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Tragic moment an elderly woman hit by train in Adelaide Hills captured on video

Tributes are flowing for an elderly dementia sufferer who was hit and killed by a train in the Adelaide Hills.

The 83-year-old woman's life ended in the most horrific way just a short distance from her home.

Local resident Roziye Delaney inadvertently recorded the moment the train driver tried to warn the victim off the tracks.

An elderly woman was struck and killed by a train on Friday morning. Source: 7 News
An elderly woman was struck and killed by a train on Friday morning. Source: 7 News
Roziye Delaney inadvertently caught the moment the train driver tried to warn the victim off the tracks. Source: 7 News
Roziye Delaney inadvertently caught the moment the train driver tried to warn the victim off the tracks. Source: 7 News

"We heard the horn," she said.

"We could just hear this really insistent honking."

The Overland was stopped in its tracks for three hours with dozens of passengers on their way to Melbourne kept on board as investigators scoured the scene.

The site is investigated while passengers remain inside the train. Source: 7 News
The site is investigated while passengers remain inside the train. Source: 7 News

The train eventually continued with replacement drivers.

Great Southern Rail says it has offered counselling to all passengers and staff.

Locals say the place where the elderly woman was hit is a popular thoroughfare for walkers, including school children who have to cross the tracks to make a shortcut from nearby Heathfield.

The incident has left residents at the local retirement village shaken.

Friends have described the victim as a vibrant woman who had been struggling with dementia.

Residents of the nursing home where the woman lived were shocked by the incident. Source: 7 News
Residents of the nursing home where the woman lived were shocked by the incident. Source: 7 News