NEW DELHI, 22nd January, 2025 (WAM) -- A freak accident has claimed the lives of nearly a dozen Indians in Maharashtra state, according to the office of the Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis.
The accident occurred when passengers of one train, the Pushpak Express, alighted midway through their journey and tried to cross an adjacent railway track.
While they were on that track, another speeding train, the Karnataka Express mowed them down. In addition to 11 persons who are confirmed dead, six others on the track were critically injured.
Fadnavis sanctioned half a million rupees (about US$6,100) each to the next of kin of those killed. His office said the Maharashtra government would bear all the medical expenses of the injured passengers.
Railway officials told reporters at the site of the accident that some passengers pulled the emergency stop chain of Pushpak Express and then got off the train. They were hit by the Karnataka Express while they were on the adjacent track.