Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has described the whole train accident in Jalgaon, which occurred on Wednesday evening, where a total of 13 people lost their lives and several others were injured receiving treatment at the hospital.
According to Ajit Pawar, one tea seller alerted about the fire in the bogie, and two people from Shravasti travelling in the general bogi of the Pushpak Express train heard it and panicked, due to which some passengers jumped out of the moving train to save themselves from the fire.
"After the railway incident, the administration and other forces got active and started the relief & rescue operations," said Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Describing the incident further, he said, "Udhal Kumar and Vijay Kumar from Shravasti were on the train... They were travelling in the general bogie and were sitting on the upper berth... One tea seller from the pantry shouted about a fire in the bogie, both of them heard that and panicked... Some passengers jumped out of the moving train to save themselves from the fire."
Ajit Pawar said one of the passengers pulled the chain to stop the train. "But the train was moving at a good speed so one of the people pulled the chain and the train stopped... Many passengers got off the train and started crossing the railway track," he added.
Also Read | Jalgaon Train Accident: Death Toll Rises to 13; Probe Underway.
"Another train, Karnataka Express came at a very high speed and hit the passengers who were crossing the railway track... As of now, 13 people have been declared dead. 10 of them have been identified while the other 3 yet to be identified... Total injured numbers 10, 8 males to 2 females," Pawar added.
"This incident happened due to the rumour spread from Udhal Kumar and Vijay Kumar, they are injured and are under treatment... Railway services are running smoothly. We have instructed the administration to provide treatment to all the injured at government cost. Our ministers and Collectors are looking into the incident," he concluded reported the news agency ANI.
One of the injured admitted to the hospital, Hakim Ansari said, "People shouted that there is a fire. After that, everyone started running away. Pushak Express stopped because the chain was pulled. The injuries happened after the Karnataka Express came on the other track..."
Another injured admitted to the hospital said, "We got off the train after everyone said that there has been a fire... We stopped the train and started running. Another train came from the other side and the people got it..."