ROURKELA: Two teenage siblings were killed after being hit by a Birmitrapur-bound passenger train while crossing the railway tracks near the Basanti Colony road over bridge (ROB) here on Tuesday night.
The deceased were identified as Ranjan Patra (18) and his brother Jagan Patra (15) of Haripur slum in Basanti Colony. The slum is located a few metre away from the mishap site.
Investigating officer (IO) of the Government Railway Police (GRP) JB Barik said the mishap took place at around 9 pm on Tuesday when a goods train had stopped on the down track. In the darkness of night, the siblings tried to cross the track by going beneath the stationary goods train. However, they were hit by the Birmitrapur-Barsuan passenger train moving on the third track. The duo was killed on the spot.
Barik said the exact circumstances leading to the mishap are yet to be ascertained. However, it is suspected that on seeing the approaching passenger train, the siblings might have miscalculated its speed and when they tried to hurriedly cross the third track, the train hit them.
Residents of Haripur slum, which is situated along the tracks, first came to know about the mishap. They reached the accident spot and rushed the duo to Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) where the doctors declared them dead. On being informed, the GRP reached RGH and seized the bodies for postmortem. An unnatural death case was registered at Rourkela GRP station. Bodies of the siblings were handed over to their family members after autopsy on Wednesday, said the IO.