At least 15 migrant workers were today (May 8) run over by a goods train in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The incident took place around 45km from the small town of Jalna at 5.15am in the morning, according to NDTV.
The workers were on their way along the railway track to the Bhusawal railway station, from where they hoped to take a train to their villages in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, media reports said. They were employed at an iron factory in Jalna.
Millions of migrant workers in India have been walking back home from cities, fearing starvation and loss of income because of the coronavirus lockdown. The government launched special train services on May 1 to transport these migrant workers back to their villages. However, hundreds continue to walk back long distances on highways or along railway tracks because getting on to the trains is difficult due to the rush.
India has been under a prolonged lockdown since March 25 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. This has brought the Indian economy to a virtual halt, forcing several businesses to shut shop and leaving possibly millions of labourers jobless.
Prime minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern about these deaths.