India Mourning 12 Killed In Train Disaster After Fire Alarm
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he is praying for those impacted by a railway tragedy in western India where at least 12 train passengers reportedly died after being struck by another train on an adjacent track.
Indian authorities confirmed that victims had jumped from their coaches in panic following “a rumor” over a fire at the train in Maharashtra State.
Officials said the tragedy occurred near the Pardhade railroad station, 410 kilometers (255 miles) northeast of Mumbai, India’s financial capital.
Witnesses reported chaos as the victims jumped off the Pushpak Express train, which had stopped after some passengers pulled an emergency chain.
Yet, according to witnesses and officials, many were unable to escape before the oncoming train struck them.
Following the disaster, Prime Minister Modi pledged assistance to families of the victims.
PRAYERS AND ASSISTANCE
Writing on social media platform X, the prime minister stressed he was “anguished over the tragic accident on the railway tracks in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of all injured.”
He added that “Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected,” including some financial support for a nation where many live in poverty.
Among the fatalities were three women and at least one child aged 10, while 15 passengers were injured, local officials said in remarks seen by Worthy News.
While an investigation was still ongoing, railway spokesman Swapnil Nila already said, “Our preliminary information is that there were sparks inside one of the coaches of the Pushpak Express due to either a ‘hot axle’ or ‘brake-binding’ (jamming) and some passengers panicked.”
He added, “They pulled the chain, and some jumped down on the tracks.”
At the same time, Karnataka Express was passing on the adjoining track, killing and injuring many, authorities said.
COLONIAL-ERA RAILROAD
Modi says he wants to modernize India’s British colonial-era railroad network, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion.
Yet Wednesday’s tragedy underscored broader concern over India’s railways, the world’s largest train network under one management.
Observers say hundreds of accidents occur yearly involving Indian trains, including derailments.
India’s top audit authority linked many accidents to defective tracks, poor maintenance, old signaling kits, and human error.
In 2023, two passenger trains collided after derailing in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades.
India’s worst-ever recorded rail accident occurred in 1981, when a cyclone blew a train off its tracks and into a river in the state of Bihar, leaving 800 dead and more than 100 injured.
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