Mumbai, Jan 22 (UNI) At least 11 train passengers were killed and several injured after they rushed out following a rumour of fire. but wee run over by another train passing on the adjacent tracks in North Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening, officials said.
Maheshwar Reddy, Superintendent of Police, Jalgaon, said eleven people have died in the accident and six others are injured and are being treated.
However, Union minister Raksha Khadse, who hails from the district, said the death toll could go up to as high as 40, as per her information.
According to reports, passengers from the Pushpak Express jumped onto the tracks to escape a suspected fire on the train. As they exited their coaches, they were struck by the incoming Karnataka Express train, resulting in at least eleven fatalities.
The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora, more than 400 km from Mumbai, where the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express had halted after someone pulled the chain following rumour of fire around 5 pm, Central Railway officials said, without confirming the death toll.
Some passengers of Pushpak Express stepped down and were hit by the oncoming Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi, said Central Railway’s chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila.
Reddy said that as per the information received from the hospital, no one is in critical condition.
A senior railway officer said that as per preliminary information there were sparks inside one of the coaches of Pushpak Express due to either ‘hot axle’ or ‘brake-binding’ (jamming), and some passengers panicked. They pulled the chain, and some of them jumped down on the tracks. At the same time, Karnataka Express was passing on the adjoining track.
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan said 10-12 persons were killed as per the district collector,
Meanwhile the Maharashtra government declared a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of those who lost their lives in the train accident in Jalgaon district. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking from Davos through a video message, assured that the state would cover the medical expenses of the injured.
