At least 13 passengers of the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express were killed when they jumped off the train triggered by rumours about a fire and were run over by another train coming in from the opposite direction on the adjacent track. More than 40 have been injured. Four are critical.
Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil feared that the death toll was likely to rise. He said that passengers who were traveling by the general compartment were alarmed by rumours of a fire which began circulating after an alarm chain-pulling incident. The train came to an abrupt halt as emergency brakes were applied in response to the alarm. This caused sparks to fly on the railway tracks as a result of friction. Passengers in the general compartment feared that the train had caught fire and fled from both the exits. Patil said that the Karnataka Express that was incoming at over 130km/hour on the adjacent track ran over the passengers, resulting in the tragic loss of lives.
Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Central Railways, has confirmed the deaths but said the exact cause for the chain-pulling has not been identified. Investigations are underway. The railways, meanwhile, has confirmed that there was no fire.
Reports quoting railway officials said that the visibility at the accident site was significantly impaired due to a curvature on the tracks. The 2-degree curvature hindered the locomotive driver from seeing the passengers who had deboarded and warning them. The Pushpak Express driver had further activated the flasher lights as per protocol, however, due to the bend in the tracks, the incoming train noticed them too late to apply the brakes in time.
Jalgaon District Collector Ayush Prasad said that the dead included nine men and three women. Three of them were Nepal nationals. Six bodies have been identified so far, including those of the Nepal citizens, Prasad said. He said the condition of four of the 10 injured was critical.
The incident reportedly took place around 5 pm on Wednesday near Pachora between Maheji and Pardhane stations.
