At least 11 people have been killed and five injured after fleeing rumors of a fire on their train in India, only to be hit by another train.
Railway officials said passengers got off the Mumbai-bound train in the western state of Maharashtra after someone pulled an emergency cable, causing it to stop.
They were hit by a train on the neighboring track. It was not immediately clear if there was indeed a fire.
India has in recent years launched a $30m (£24bn) program to modernize its railways, but this has been marred by a series of accidents, including major accident of three trains in 2023 in the state of Odisha in which almost 300 people died.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a post on X that he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” during the incident near Pachora in Jalgaon district, about 400 km from Mumbai, India’s financial capital.
He said eight ambulances had been dispatched and hospitals were on standby.
The accident will be seen as a setback for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has called for rail modernization to boost the economy and connectivity.
There are plans to increase spending on the program in next month’s budget, Reuters news agency reports.
