Eleven people were killed and 11 injured in another attack in India on Wednesday evening, local authorities said.
Officials said passengers had disembarked after rumors of a fire on the train caused panic among people on board.
The accident occurred around 5 p.m. in the state of Maharashtra, about 170 miles northeast of Mumbai, said Ashok Pawar, police inspector at Pachola police station. The passengers were on the Pushpak Express, a train traveling from Lucknow in northern India to Mumbai in the west, he said.
Panic ensued and people started leaving the train when it finally stopped, Pawar said. They were hit by another train, the Karnataka Express, passing by an adjacent track.
It was unclear how many passengers were on the Pushpak Express. Pawar said the train was packed with people. Many of them are migrant workers who travel for work. The accident left the victim with serious injuries, he said.
Authorities said they were investigating the episode.
“We will accurately investigate whether there was an actual fire or whether it is a rumor spread by mischievous persons,” said Maswar Reddy, the police commissioner of Jalgaon district, where the accident took place. said To the reporter.
Inspector Pawar said seven people who died were from Nepal and four were from northern Uttar Pradesh, where Lucknow is located. One body remained unidentified and the victim’s family was currently in Jalgaon, he said.
Devendra Fadnavis, a senior government official in Maharashtra, said eight ambulances were dispatched to the scene late Wednesday. The state government will provide financial assistance to the victim’s family, he said. said Social media will cover the costs of the injured.
The accident has raised more questions about the safety of train travel in India. There, millions of people rely on a vast and accident-prone rail network for transportation, especially in rural areas.
