Aurangabad train accident: Raised an alarm but to no avail, says eyewitness

As many as 16 migrant labourers were killed and five others injured when a freight train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad on Friday

Recalling the nightmare, an eyewitness of the Aurangabad train mishap said that he raised an alarm in order to save the other migrant workers who were on tracks, but to no avail. The chilling incident claimed the lives of 16 migrant labourers.

Dhirendra Singh said he tried his best to alert his colleagues, but unfortunately the train ran over them.

"We all hail from Madhya Pradesh and work for SRG Company, Jalna. We were going to our native villages. We left our rooms at 7 PM on Thursday and reached the incident spot at around 4 AM in the morning on Friday," said Singh.

"We stopped there to take some rest. Those who died in the incident were only a few metres ahead of three of us. They sat on the tracks and gradually went into sleep. I along with two others were taking rest some distance away from tracks. After some time a freight train came ... I alerted them but they could not hear me and train ran over them," he said.

"We had applied for the passes a week ago. Due to lockdown in the wake of Covid-19, we became jobless and were running out of money, hence we were going to our villages," he added.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the 16 migrant labourers who died in Aurangabad have been sent to Madhya Pradesh by a special train.

As many as 16 migrant labourers were killed and five others injured when a freight train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad, informed Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Central Railway (SCR).

The injured are getting treatment in Aurangabad civil hospital.

The mishap occurred on Friday in the Nanded Division of South Central Railway in Karmad police station area of the Aurangabad district.

Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who were killed in the Aurangabad train accident.