India: Train Kills 16 Workers Laid Off in COVID-19 Lockdown
An Indian train killed 16 migrant workers who had fallen asleep on the track on Friday while they were heading back to their home village after losing their jobs in a coronavirus lockdown, police said.
Tens of thousands of people have been walking home from India’s big cities after being laid off because of the lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus since late March.
The driver tried to stop the freight train when he saw the workers on the tracks near Aurangabad town in the western state of Maharashtra, the railway ministry said, adding it had ordered an inquiry.
Sixteen people were killed and two injured, the state government said in a statement. Small bundles of food, footwear and other belongings were scattered on the tracks after the accident.
