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12 dead after passengers jump off train suspecting fire, run over by another

22 January 2025 20:51 (UTC +04:00)

At least 12 people died and nearly seven were injured after being hit by a train in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Wednesday, APA reports citing India Today.

Passengers of the Pushpak Express, alarmed by a suspected fire, hopped off the train, and were hit by the Karnataka Express, coming from the opposite direction on an adjacent track.

The Pushpak Express, running from Lucknow to Mumbai, was near Jalgaon when rumours of a fire aboard one of its coaches caused panic among passengers.

A railway official told news agency PTI that sparks, possibly caused by a "hot axle" or "brake-binding", led to fears of a fire inside the train. In response, passengers pulled the emergency chain to stop the train. Several jumped off in an attempt to escape the perceived danger, landing on the parallel track, but were hit by the Karnataka Express coming from the opposite direction.

"After the chain was pulled, several passengers got off from one of the coaches of the train. At the time, the Karnataka Express which was travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi, hit several passengers," Swapnil Nila, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CRPO) of Central Railway told India Today TV.