Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the Jalgaon train accident was the result of a “sheer rumour” about fire by a tea-seller inside the Pushpak Express, which led to panic and some passengers jumping off.

Some passengers of the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express, who got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident, were run over by the Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi on the adjacent tracks in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening.

Thirteen persons were killed and 15 injured in the accident, as per officials.

Speaking to the reporters in Pune, Mr Pawar said, “A tea-seller from the pantry shouted about a fire having broken out in a coach.” Two passengers from Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh heard it and conveyed the false alarm to others, leading to confusion and panic in their general coach and the adjoining one, he said.

Some of the scared passengers jumped off the train from both the sides to save themselves, Mr Pawar said.

As the train was speeding, a passenger pulled the alarm chain. “After the train halted, people started getting down and got run over by the Karnataka Express on the adjacent track,” he said.

The impact was so powerful that several passengers lost their lives and the bodies got mutilated, Mr Pawar said.

“The accident was the result of a sheer rumour about fire,” the deputy Chief Minister said.

Of the 13 persons who died, 10 have been identified, he said.

The two passengers, who reportedly spread the rumour, was among those injured in the incident, he said.

The district guardian minister and officials reached the spot and after some time, the movement of trains resumed in both the directions, he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

On Wednesday a son took a photograph of his mother at the train station in Lucknow, where he was seeing her off on the daily superfast Pushpak Express to Mumbai, little knowing it would be the last time he would see her alive.

Hours later the mother, Kamala Bhandari, 43, a resident of Mumbai’s Colaba neighbourhood, was one of 13 people, including a 11-year-old boy, who died as the train crossed Maharashtra’s Jalgaon.

The son, Tapendra Bhandari, was left to face the shock and trauma.

Authorities believe some passengers, alarmed by what they thought were sparks – due to ‘brake-binding’- in the coach, jumped off the train and were run over by another – the Karnataka Express – from the opposite direction. The Railway Ministry later confirmed there were no sparks in the coach.

READ | 13 Dead After Jumping Off Train Over Fire Rumour, Getting Hit By Another

The incident happened around 5 pm, and harrowing images from the scene showed bodies lying on tracks as injured passengers wandered around with blood all over them.

Not all 13 people who died have been identified so far; as of Thursday morning only eight had.

But, of those eight, four are from Nepal, including Ms Bhandari and a man called Lachchiram Pasi, whose family not only had to come to terms with his death but also identify his mutilated body. “Some portions of his hands and legs (were) missing,” his nephew, Ramrang Pasi, told news agency PTI.

Mr Pasi was in his 50s, his nephew said, and hailed from Nepal’s Narainpur Banke district. He was travelling from Nepal to Thane, via Lucknow, with five day wagers who managed to survive.

READ | “Everyone Jumped On Tracks”: Passenger On Jalgaon Train Horror

Like Mr Pasi, Ms Bhandari’s son had to identify his mother’s body.

Heart-breaking visuals showed the young man being escorted down the section of tracks where his mother’s body was found. He had scraps of clothing, presumably what was left of his mother’s clothes, clutched to his chest, and seemed, understandably, to still be in shock.

Kamala Bhandari at the railway station in Lucknow

One video showed him kneeling in front of a few blood-stained pebbles. He picked up a few, washed them with some water from a bottle, and clutched them to his chest too.

And, on the question of repatriating Ms Bhandari’s body to her home country, Mr Bhandari, sought aid from the authorities to carry it either by road or air.

According to PTI, the two others from Nepal were Javakala Bhate, 60, who lived in Bhiwandi in Thane, and 11-year-old Imtiyaz Ali.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in Davos for the World Economic Forum, both expressed sorrow, and announced Rs 5 lakh to each of the 13 families. The state, Mr Fadnavis also said, would bear medical costs for the injured.

The Railway Protection Force and the Government Railway Police have begun a joint inquiry into the incident, in which 15 people were also injured.

With input from agencies

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A rumour of “aag lag gayi, aag lag gayi (There’s a fire, there’s a fire),” triggered the outbreak of mass panic among train passengers and everyone started running, jumping off the train, said a witness to the train tragedy in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra that claimed 12 lives.

The passengers had stepped out of their coaches due to a suspected fire on the Pushpak Express. While they were on the tracks, the Karnataka Express arrived on the adjacent track and hit them. The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora, more than 400 km from Mumbai

Some passengers saw sparks flying from the wheels of the train when brakes were applied. Soon, a rumour spread that there’s been a fire.  Panic gripped passengers and they started jumping off the train on the tracks,” witness Vishal Yadav, who was bleeding from the knee, told NDTV.

Those who jumped on the tracks were run over by a fast train, said officials.

“We also started getting down. Suddenly there was a train coming in from the opposite direction and that caused a stampede-like situation. I tried to get away and was injured in the process,” Mr Yadav said.

A senior Railway official told news agency PTI that the preliminary information suggests sparks and smoke inside one of the general coaches of Pushpak Express due to either “hot axle” or “brake-binding (jamming)”.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to families who have lost a loved one in the tragedy.

“Our minister Girish Mahajan is personally overseeing the rescue and support to the victims of the accident. I have spoken to district administration and police officials there (in Jalgaon),” the Chief Minister said.