Jalgaon: At least 13 people were killed, while 15 others were injured in the Jalgaon train mishap that took place on Wednesday evening after several passengers of the Pushpak Express jumped off their coach after rumours of fire on the train caused panic. An eyewitness told India Today that a tea seller said that the coach caught blaze and then pulled the emergency chain of the train. It prompted passengers to jump from the train.
The incident took place when passengers aboard the 12533 Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express jumped off the train and were run over by the Karnataka Express, which was passing on an adjacent track.
"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 eyewitness told the media house.
Notably, some passengers jumped in the opposite direction and they were saved as there were no tracks."If they had jumped on the trackside, the death toll would have been even higher," he added.
The mishap occurred between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora town in north Maharashtra's Jalgaon district when the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express halted after someone pulled the chain at around 4.45 pm on Wednesday, Central Railway officials earlier said.
Notably, some passengers onboard the Pushpak Express, fearing a fire, jumped in haste onto the adjacent tracks and were run over by the oncoming Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi, as per officials.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, however, denied that any spark or fire inside the coach caused passengers to pull the alarm.
In a video message from Davos in Switzerland, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said, "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." Fadnavis announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the passengers who died in the tragedy.
The Railway Board separately announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for grievous wounds and Rs 5,000 for simple injuries.
