Six persons were crushed to death after being run over by a speeding train in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

The accident took place Monday night in Srikakulam district, about 461 kilometers northeast of Amaravati, the main city of Andhra Pradesh.

According to officials, the accident took place when some passengers in the Secunderabad-Guwahati Superfast Express got down onto the adjoining railway track after the train stopped due to a technical glitch.

“After detecting smoke in the train, someone pulled the chain and the train stopped.

“Following it, some passengers got down and were standing on the track.

“At that time another train came in the opposite direction and hit these people,” a senior police officer said.

The police teams rushed to the spot and removed the bodies from the track.

“The bodies have been sent for the post-mortem and after identification, they will be handed over to their respective families,” the police officer said.

-Xinhua/NAN