3 dead, 1 injured as train hits passengers in Mumbai amid unions protest

The mishap occurred when a large number of passengers were walking along the tracks due to severe overcrowding and disruption of suburban train services.

Three commuters lost their lives and one sustained serious injuries on Thursday evening after being hit by a train near Sandhurst Road station in Mumbai.

Mumbai local(Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times/ Representational)

The mishap occurred when a large number of passengers were walking along the tracks due to severe overcrowding and disruption of suburban train services caused by a sudden protest by railway employees.

While two victims died on the spot, the third succumbed while undergoing treatment at JJ Hospital. One injured passenger is still undergoing treatment at the hospital, with the condition said to be serious.

The incident occurred around 7 PM, shortly after the suburban train service on Central Railway was disrupted due to a flash strike by employees' unions over an FIR registered against two engineers in the June 9 Mumbra accident case.

Train services resumed after senior officials assured the protesters they would pursue the matter with state authorities. Central Railway’s chief public relations officer (CPRO), Swapnil Nila, told PTI that the employees protesting at CSMT, where daily passenger footfall reaches several lakhs, did not allow motormen and train managers to operate trains between 5:50 PM and 6:45 PM. The protest led to overcrowding on trains during the evening rush hours.

The Mumbra train accident

The Mumbra incident, in which four people had lost their lives, occurred on June 9 when two trains, one headed to Kasara and the other towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, were passing each other at a sharp curve.

Some commuters on the footboard of the coaches fell onto the tracks after their backpacks brushed against each other, as per police.

Following a probe, the Thane railway police booked a senior section engineer and a section engineer of Central Railway under section 125(a)(b) (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Thursday's protest by railway employees' unions was against this exact action.