In the dead of night on Friday, an unforgiving tragedy unfolded on the railway tracks in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, claiming the lives of two women and a young girl.

As relayed by railway authorities, the ill-fated trio was ambling along the iron pathway when the Kolhapur-bound Koyna Express, hurtling from Mumbai, struck them with merciless speed. Their demise was instantaneous, leaving no room for intervention. The nature of the incident—whether a calamitous accident or a deliberate act of despair—remains shrouded in uncertainty, according to senior inspector Ajay Sindkar of Shahupuri police station, who conveyed this to ETV Bharat.

The identities of the deceased remain undisclosed. Preliminary information suggests one woman was between 40 and 45 years old, the second between 20 and 25 years, and the young girl possibly between 10 and 15 years, as stated by Sindkar.

It has been revealed that the unfortunate event transpired as the three were traversing the track from Vikramnagar towards the market yard, with the Koyna Express fast approaching Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj railway station from the market yard in Kolhapur. The impact was so severe that one woman was flung to one side of the track, while the other woman and the girl were hurled to the opposite side.

In the aftermath, the locomotive pilot decelerated the train, bringing it to a halt some distance away. The local populace quickly converged at the scene. The locomotive pilot promptly informed the railway guard, who then alerted the Railway Police, with the incident being reported to Shahupuri police station.

Inspector Ajay Sindkar, along with his team, swiftly arrived at the location and commenced an investigation. The bodies were transported to CPR Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The community is left in mourning, grappling with the sudden and harrowing loss of life under such tragic circumstances.