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Union Minister of State for Railways, V Somanna, said that the Jalgaon train accident occurred due to misuse of the emergency chain by seven passengers, creating confusion and leading to the tragic incident.
Speaking to the ANI, V Somanna said, "...7 people have pulled the chain and misused it. It created confusion. This is a tragic and unexpected incident." Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the incident occurred after rumours of fire in the train which created panic among the travellers and as a result, people started jumping off the train and subsequently was hit by another speeding train. Pawar stated that the rumour was spread by two persons Udhal Kumar and Vijay Kumar, when they heard a tea seller shouting about a fire in the bogie after which both of them panicked and subsequently people started jumping off the train to save themselves. Speaking to reporters, Ajit Pawar said, "After the railway incident, the administration and other forces got active and started the relief & rescue operations... 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... 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... Another train, Karnataka Express came at a very high speed and hit the passengers who were crossing the railway track..." he added. The Deputy CM further stated that a total of 10 deceased have been identified from the 13 killed while the three deceased are yet to be identified. A total of 13 people have died in the incident. The incident occurred on Wednesday evening in Maharashtra's Jalgaon when passengers of the Pushpak Express stepped outside their coaches due to a suspected fire on the train while the Karnataka Express was passing through the adjacent track, and several people were hit by the moving train. The Railway Ministry has announced ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each for the kin of the deceased in the Jalgaon train accident. (ANI)
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