Morena, June 14 (IANS) Triggered by a false rumour, four persons — three women and a child — were killed on Sunday evening after panicked passengers jumped from the Udaipur Intercity Express and were struck by another train on an adjacent track near Hetampur station in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district.

The tragedy occurred at around 4.15 p.m. on June 14 when a rumour that the Khajuraho-Udaipur Intercity Express had caught fire spread rapidly among passengers.

The train had halted in the Hetampur-Dholpur section after a passenger pulled the alarm chain in a general coach.

In the ensuing panic, several passengers jumped from the train and stepped onto the adjacent railway track.

At that moment, the Firozpur-Seoni Patalkot Express (Train No. 20424) approached from the opposite direction, resulting in the fatal accident.

The deceased have been identified as Afreen (35), her four-year-old son Asad, Shakuntala (60) and Veerma Devi (58), officials said.

The sight of the bodies at the scene triggered chaos and emotional scenes among passengers and local residents.

Railway and police officials immediately rushed to the spot and launched rescue and relief operations.

KK Singh, Station In-charge of Sarai Chhola, who led the initial response, said rescue teams acted swiftly after receiving information about the incident.

According to officials, the Intercity Express came to a halt after the alarm chain was pulled. Some passengers got down and inadvertently moved onto the parallel track, where they were hit by the oncoming Patalkot Express.

Railway authorities have initiated a detailed inquiry into the sequence of events, including how the fire rumour originated and the circumstances that led passengers to move onto the adjacent track.

Senior officials from the Jhansi division have reached the site to oversee the investigation and provide assistance to the affected families.

–IANS

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