Five passengers were crushed to death after a train ran them over in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam on Monday night. Another passenger was critically injured in the incident and has been admitted to the hospital.
The railway and local police reached the site of the accident and have launched an investigation.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed grief over the incident.
The accident took place on Monday night in Batuva village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
According to eyewitnesses, the passengers concerned noticed smoke coming out of the train they were travelling on – the Guwahati Express – and pulled the emergency chain. They got off the train and stood on the tracks.
That is when another train, the Konark Express, came from the opposite direction and crushed them. The train was on its way from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam.
Two of the deceased have been identified as native to Assam. Identification of the others is underway, authorities said.
The injured person, who has been shifted to Srikakulam General Hospital for treatment, hails from Odisha.