11 killed as train hits jeep in Ahmednagar

Such was the impact of the collision that eight persons died on the spot, while three others succumbed on the way to the hospital.

All the 14 passengers in the jeep hailed from Eknathwadi village of Pathardi taluka in Ahmednagar district. They were sugarcane cutters and were returning home late in the night after the elections of the Vighnahar Cooperative Sugar factory at Junnar.

According to the police, the gates at the crossing have been closedpermanently as work on a railway overbridge is in progress. A gateman was also posted there to alert people.

Police said the jeep driver tried to cross the railway line through a transitory road near the gate. He did not see the train coming from the other direction and while crossing, the wheels of the jeep got stuck in the rails. The gateman shouted to the driver asking him not to cross the railway line but the latter ignored him.

The 7384 Up Maharashtra Express which came at full speed dashed against the vehicle killing eight persons on the spot. The cattle-guard of the engine was damaged in the mishap.

The deceased were identified as Raghunath Bhima Khedkar 42, Maruti Khedkar 30, Adinath Khedkar 45, Babu Kisan Khedkar 45, Bappaji Trimbak Khedkar 55, Dinkar Bapu Khedkar 40, Kakasaheb Maruti Khedkar 28, Sampat Nana Khedkar 25, Bhagwat Narayan Khedkar 55, Shankar Bapu Ware, and Datta Shivaji Sonwar 18.

The injured who have been admitted to the civil hospital in Ahmednagar areBabasaheb Pappaji Khedkar 30, Pandharinath Hiraji Khedkar 62, and the jeep driver Mahadev Tulshiram Sol 30, a resident of Mith Sangvi of Pathardi taluka.