In a tragic accident, as many as 15 migrant labourers lost their lives while returning to Madhya Pradesh amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown. The workers, who were sleeping on the railway tracks, died after being run over by a cargo train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad on Friday, May 8.
An inquiry has been ordered in the incident; however, the Ministry of Railways took to microblogging site Twitter to state that the loco pilot of goods train tried to stop the train after spotting the migrants on the track but, the train did not stop and eventually hit them.
During early hours today after seeing some labourers on track, loco pilot of goods train tried to stop the train but eventually hit them between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Parbhani-Manmad section. Injured have been taken to Aurangabad Civil Hospital. Inquiry has been ordered," read the Railways tweet.
The incident occurred at around 5:30 am on the Aurangabad-Jalna railway line. About 20 migrant workers were sleeping on the track when the incident occurred. Four of the survivors are still in shock and are being counselled by the police, according to reports. The fifth survivor has been admitted to Aurangabad Civil Hospital.
The tragic incident comes days after the Ministry of Railways launched the Shramik Special trains to ferry the stranded migrant workers to their homes in the middle of this coronavirus crisis.
PM Modi says, 'extremely anguished.'
Reacting to the migrant labourers' deaths in Aurangabad rail accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is extremely anguished by the news, which has killed around 15 migrant labourers.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due to the rail accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation. All possible assistance required is being provided."
