At least 15 people were killed and 50 others injured when a goods train collided head-on with a stationary passenger train at Badarwas railway station in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district in the wee hours on Monday.

The mishap took place around 4.45 am when a goods train of North-Central Railway overshot the signal and hit the stationary passenger train from the front at the station which is 50 kms from Guna town, Shivpuri Collector, Rajkumar Pathak said.

Railway Board officials said 15 people have been killed in the mishap. However, Pathak put the toll at 13. He said ten of the injured are in a critical condition.

Just before the accident, the goods train driver jumped off from the locomotive and fled, Pathak said. Both the drivers of the Inter-city train are said to be safe.

Those with serious injuries have been rushed to Guna District Hospital while others with minor wounds were undergoing treatment at Badarwas, the Collector said.

Two front bogies of the Express Train have been badly damaged in the accident, he said.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 for those with serious and minor injuries respectively.

Besides announcing monetary compensation, the government has also promised jobs to the next kin of those killed in the mishap.

Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa has already left for the accident site along with senior railway officials.

Relief trains from neighbouring Bhopal, Guna and Bina have reached the spot, he said, adding relief and rescue operations were being carried out on a war footing.

Madhya Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have expressed grief over the accident and conveyed their condolences to the families.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Bhopal, Ghanshyam Singh said “15 bodies have been recovered from the mishap site, and now the chances of the toll going further is remote.”

“Primarily, it appears that the mishap took place due to signal overshooting,” he said.

However, the exact cause of the accident will be known when the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Mumbai will submit his report, Singh said.

Ten persons, who suffered serious injuries and have been rushed to the District Hospital in neighbouring Guna district while others are being treated at Badarwas, the Collector said.