At least 13 passengers died on Wednesday after being struck by another train in Maharashtra, western India, while attempting to flee a rumoured fire on their train, the Pushpak Express, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Six others sustained injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals, said police officer Dattatraya Karale.
The incident occurred near Pardhade railway station, approximately 255 miles southwest of Mumbai. The Pushpak Express had stopped after passengers activated the emergency chain in panic. Those who disembarked onto the adjacent track were hit by the passing Karnataka Express, PTI quoted railway spokesman Swapnil Nila as saying.
“Our preliminary information is that there were sparks inside one of the coaches of Pushpak Express due to either ‘hot axle’ or ‘brake-binding’ (jamming), and some passengers panicked. They pulled the chain, and some of them jumped down on the tracks. At the same time, Karnataka Express was passing on the adjoining track,” a senior railway official told PTI.
India’s railways, the largest network under single management globally, continues to face safety challenges despite government efforts to modernise. Hundreds of accidents are reported annually.
In 2023, one of India’s worst rail disasters occurred when two passenger trains collided after derailing in eastern India, killing over 280 people and injuring hundreds more.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritised modernising the colonial-era rail system in India, now the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people.
