Mumbai: At least 13 people lost their lives, while 15 others sustained injuries in a tragic train accident in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred after several passengers of the Mumbai-bound 12533 Pushpak Express panicked and jumped off their coach following rumours of a fire. Unfortunately, they landed on an adjacent track and were run over by the speeding Karnataka Express passing by.
According to an eyewitness account shared with India Today, a tea seller at the station spread panic by falsely claiming that the coach had caught fire. The eyewitness said, “A tea seller started the rumour by claiming the train had caught fire. He himself pulled the emergency chain, and as the train slowed down, passengers began jumping out in a desperate attempt to save their lives.”
The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora town in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district. As the emergency chain was pulled at around 4.45 pm, the Pushpak Express came to a halt, and fearing a blaze, passengers leaped from the train. Some of them, however, jumped in the opposite direction where there were no tracks and managed to survive. “If they had jumped on the trackside, the death toll would have been even higher,” the eyewitness added.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, denied any reports of a spark or fire in the coach that could have caused panic among the passengers.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in Davos, Switzerland, at the time, released a video message addressing the tragedy. “Some passengers in the train mistakenly assumed that smoke was coming out of the train and they jumped. Unfortunately, they were run over by another train,” he stated. Expressing grief over the incident, Fadnavis announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
Additionally, the Railway Board announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for those who suffered grievous injuries, and Rs 5,000 for passengers with minor injuries. Authorities are investigating the circumstances leading to the mishap to prevent such incidents in the future.
