At least 12 people have died in India after passengers fleeing a rumored fire jumped onto the tracks and collided with another train.

At least 12 train passengers were killed on Wednesday after being hit by another service on an adjacent track in western India, the Press Trust of India reported.

At least six people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, the news agency quoted police officer Dattatraya Karale as saying.

The accident happened in Maharashtra state, near Pardhade railway station, 255 miles southwest of Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

PTI said the victims were thrown from the stationary Pushpak Express train after some passengers pulled emergency chains. PTI quoted railway spokesperson Swapnil Nila as saying that the alighters were hit by another express train on the adjacent railway track.

“According to our preliminary information, sparks occurred inside one of the coaches of Pushpak Express either due to a ‘hot bullet’ or a ‘brake jam’ (jam) and some passengers panicked. They pulled the chain and some jumped down on the tracks at the same time. The Karnataka Express was passing through the adjacent road,” he said.

Despite the improvement efforts of the government railway safety, hundreds of accidents happens every year Railways of Indiais the world’s largest train network under one management.

In 2023, two passenger trains derailed and collided in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds. deadliest railway accidents in decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on modernizing India’s railway network, which dates back to the British colonial era. It is the most populous country in the world with 1.42 billion people.