At least four elderly passengers on Kerala Express travelling to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu have died in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district because of extreme heat, The Times of India reported on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday evening as an intense heatwave swept North India. Jhansi recorded a temperature of 48.1 degrees Celsius.
“A group of 65 passengers had boarded train from Agra Cantonment in S9 and S8 coach of Kerala Express at around 4.02 pm,” said Manoj Singh, the public relation officer of Jhansi railway division. “Majority of the passengers were above 65 years and were on UP tour. When train reached Jhansi at 7 pm, three passengers were found dead, while fourth was in critical condition, who was taken to a hospital but later succumbed.”
Singh said that though their autopsy report has not been released yet, fellow passengers said the four – identified as 80-year-old Bundur Palanisame, 67-year-old Bal Krishna Ramaswami, Dhanlaxmi, 74, and 87-year-old Subbaraiyya – had complained of uneasiness because of the heat. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath offered his condolences.
Jhansi Divisional Railway Manager Neeraj Ambisht said the bodies would be sent to Coimbatore on Tuesday after autopsy, IANS reported.
According to The Times of India, Ghazipur resident Rajesh Gupta was found dead in a general coach of Kushinagar Express on June 7 because of excessive heat. His body was recovered at Babina station before Jhansi junction.
The week before, a teenage girl identified as Sita died in a general coach of UP Jansapark Kranti express because of heat.
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