A tragic accident took place at Chunar railway station in Mirzapur on Wednesday morning, in which at least six devotees lost their lives after being hit by a train. The incident occurred at around 9.30 am on platform number 3 when Kalka Mail Express was passing at high speed.
According to available information, the devotees had come from Chopan and after getting down from the train stopped at platform number 4, crossed the track and were moving towards platform number 3. Then Kalka Bandhu, who was passing by without stopping, caught hold of him. Eyewitnesses say that the accident happened so suddenly that no one even got a chance to recover.
Let us tell you that these devotees were going to Varanasi for the holy bath of Kartik Purnima. There was chaos at the station after the accident. Railway officials, GRP and local police immediately reached the spot, after which the injured were admitted to nearby hospitals.
It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed deep sorrow over this incident and has instructed the officials to carry out immediate relief and rescue work. The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
According to the CPRO of North Central Railway, the devotees tried to cross the track directly instead of using the footover bridge, due to which the accident occurred. At the same time, additional teams of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP have been deployed on the spot. The bodies have been sent for postmortem and measures are being considered to prevent such accidents in future.
Importantly, despite this accident, rail traffic is continuing smoothly at Chunar Junction. Officials are monitoring the situation and waiting for the next update.