At least 14 migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks were mowed down by an empty oil train in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district in the early hours of Friday. Two of the five survivors were injured in the incident, police said.
According to PTI, the workers were walking to Bhusawal from Jalna. They had been walking along the rail tracks and slept off due to exhaustion. They were mowed down by a goods train that was running between Jalna and Aurangabad at 5.15 am. The motormen honked and tried to bring the train to a halt but failed to do. The labourers, all worked at an iron factory in Jalna and were headed back to Madhya Pradesh amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Expressing grief over the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted,
The ministry of railways said it has ordered an inquiry into the incident and tweeted,
Ever since the COVID-19 Lockdown has been announced several migrant workers have hit the streets, in an attempt to return home.
Also Read: COVID-19 Lockdown: Migrant workers gather at Bandra railway station in Mumbai