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16 migrant workers, sleeping on the train tracks after an overnight walk from Jalna, hit by a freight train near Aurangabad early Friday.
Sixteen migrant workers who slept on the train tracks while returning to Madhya Pradesh were crushed by a freight train in the Aurangabad district in the early hours of Friday. The railways announced a thorough investigation into the accident that occurred at 5.15 a.m. near Karmad, some 30 km from Aurangabad. Those killed and the four workers who survived were men, authorities said.
A viral video clip of the tragedy scene shows the bodies of migrant workers lying on the tracks and nearby with their scattered belongings scattered. Aurangabad SP Mokshada Patil told PTI that three of the four survivors had tried in vain to wake up their colleagues who had slept on the runway after a night walk from Jalna, some 40 km from the crash site.
Workers walked to Bhusawal from Jalna along the train tracks, as they returned to Madhya Pradesh. “The workers worked in a steel factory in Jalna. They left on foot for their home state on Thursday night. They managed to walk to Karmad and fell asleep on the tracks from exhaustion, ”said a police officer at the scene of the accident.
Extremely distressed by loss of life … All possible assistance required is provided
–Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Three of the four survivors were sleeping at a distance from the train tracks, police said. Migrant workers, unemployed due to confinement and desperate to go to their villages, were walking along the train tracks to escape the attention of the police. The survivors had frantically alarmed to alert members of their group to the approaching freight train, police said.
Chilling details about the tragedy emerged as survivors recounted the events. “A group of 20 stranded workers began to walk from Jalna. They decided to rest and most of them lied on the train tracks. Three of them were resting in a nearby flat area. After a while, these three saw a freight train coming and immediately raised the alarm, but were not heard, “said Mokshada Patil. “Of the 20 people, 16 died, one was injured and three are with us,” he said.
We are in constant contact with the Center to make the necessary arrangements so that as many trains as possible can circulate so that the migrants return to their homes. I ask you not to lose hope
–Head Minister Uddhav Thackeray
Migrant workers line up in Ghatkopar, challenging the police (Photo by Raju Shelar)
Workers must wait until their turn comes and arrangements are made (to guarantee their return). They should not risk their lives traveling in an unsafe way
–Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
The Chief Commissioner for Railway Safety, Shailesh Pathak, wrote to the Chairman of the Railways Board, requesting all efforts made to prevent such incidents. Jalna SP S Chaitanya said that the workers’ employer did not know that the workers had left the city.
The victims, aged between 20 and 35, were from the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. “The workers decided to walk to Aurangabad in hopes of being able to board a train from there and get to Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
Heartbreaking … The central government must work closely together with state governments to ensure that these migrants reach their homes safely.
–NCP President Sharad Pawar
The stretch near Aurangabad, where 16 migrants were crushed by a train
We should be ashamed of the treatment that is being given to our nation’s builders.
—Leader of Congress Rahul Gandhi
The sequence of events
Survivors told police they left Jalna at 7 p.m. Thursday and walked non-stop for hours, covering 36 km. Unable to move on, some of them collapsed due to exhaustion on the tracks themselves, believing that the trains were not working due to the closure.
Meanwhile, a freight train carrying empty oil containers was bound for Panewadi in Manmad Tehsil. After the accident, he stopped at the next station. The victim’s bodies were transported to Jabalpur by train at the time of printing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said all possible assistance was being provided to the families of the deceased and survivors. President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed distress over the incident.
-Agencies
Hundreds of migrant workers squatted along the tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli, waiting for a train to take them home (Photo by Raju Shelar)
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Notification of the rights commission to Maharashtra
New Delhi: The National Commission on Human Rights on Friday issued notices to the chief secretary of state and the Aurangabad district magistrate about more than 16 migrant workers who were hit by a freight train. Officers have been instructed to file a detailed report within four weeks. It should also include details of the steps taken by state and district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic services to poor people, especially migrant workers, who face extreme difficulties during the shutdown, the commission said.
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