In Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Wednesday, 12 passengers lost their lives, and six others were injured in a tragic train accident near the Pardhade railway station. The incident happened when some passengers from the Pushpak Express panicked due to a rumour about a fire. They jumped off the train to escape, but sadly, another train on the nearby track hit them.

Police officer Dattatraya Karale confirmed the deaths and injuries from the train accident, as reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI). The accident happened in Jalgaon, a city located about 410 kilometres (255 miles) northeast of Mumbai.

According to PTI, some passengers on the Pushpak Express pulled the emergency chain after noticing sparks inside one of the train's coaches. When the train stopped, a few passengers got down and ended up on the tracks next to it. Tragically, another train, the Karnataka Express, was passing on those tracks and hit them.

A senior railway official said, “Our preliminary information is that there were sparks inside one of the coaches of the Pushpak Express due to either a ‘hot axle’ or ‘brake-binding’ (jamming), and some passengers panicked.”

This incident is a sad reminder that train accidents happen often in India, even though steps are being taken to make rail travel safer.

Last year, a big train accident in eastern India caused more than 280 deaths, making it one of the worst rail disasters in the country's history.

Modi's efforts to modernise India's railways

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to modernise India’s large railway system, which was built during British rule. The rail network is very important for connecting people across the country, but it still faces many safety problems.