Four sanitation workers were killed on Saturday, November 2 in Kerala’s Palakkad district after being run over by the New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Express while cleaning a railway track. The workers were employed on a contract basis to clear the track reportedly in preparation ahead of a Union Minister’s visit, likely to be Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The incident took place around 3 pm near Shoranur railway station when the workers were picking up litter on the railway track on the Kochi bridge above the Bharathapuzha river. The victims included two men and two women, all hailing from Tamil Nadu. Three of the workers have been identified as Lakshman, Valli, and Rani. The body of the fourth person, identified as Lakshmanan who fell into the river due to the impact of the collision, was retrieved from the river on Sunday evening.

Malayalam channel Asianet News quoted an eye-witness who said that a total of 10 workers were assigned to clean the litter on a contract basis as a Union Minister, assumed to be Ashwini Vaishnaw, was scheduled to pass through Shoranur. 

“There was a significant amount of waste in the area, and the workers had gathered it in sacks and were on their way back when they were struck by the train. They were originally from Salem and Villupuram but were living in Ottapalam. The workers were set to return home after completing their work,” the eyewitness said. 

Railway officials told IANS that the search for the missing person is concentrated near pillars 3 and 4 of the bridge.

Shakthivel, another worker who was with the group, said that there was no signal warning them of an approaching train as they entered the track. He added that the train arrived suddenly, leaving those on the track with no time to react and no space to escape.

(With inputs from IANS)