At least 11 people died in a rail accident in India’s western Maharashtra state when they disembarked from their train, fearing a fire, only to be hit by another train passing on the adjacent track.
Railway officials told media that someone had pulled the train’s alarm chain, causing it to come to a halt, after which several passengers deboarded onto the adjacent tracks and were mowed down by another passing train.
“As per the information, 11 people have died in the accident and 5 others are injured,” a senior railways official in Nashik region, Praveen Gedam, said to media.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said ambulances had been dispatched to the spot and arrangements were being made to treat the injured.
“Emergency equipment like glass cutters, floodlights, etc have also been kept ready,” he said on messaging platform X.
However, rail accidents in the last two years, including a collision in 2023 that killed at least 288 people, have tarnished its image.
