Singrauli, March 1: Three people died after two cargo trains collided head-on in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district on Sunday. A loco pilot and an assistant loco pilot were trapped following the accident, news agency ANI reported. Local authorities and a team of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) were present at the spot. The trains are owned and operated by NTPC and have no connection with the Indian Railways.

"The accident occurred when a loaded rake collided with an empty rake coming from power plant at a crossover and people involved are NTPC staff trying to manage the operation on defective track/crossover," Rajesh Kumar, CPRO, East Central Railways, told ANI. Pictures from the accident spot showed overturned and mangled coaches. Police officers and NTPC officials were monitoring the rescue operations amid huge crowd and chaos.

The cargo trains were carrying coal. "It is clarified that it is not an accident in the Indian Railway system. The accident took place in Merry Go Round (MGR) system completely owned & operated by NTPC, Rihand. As per the request of NTPC, Indian Railways is providing all support," Indian Railways' Rajesh Kumar said. The MGR system is a 43 km stretch from Jayant mine to the power plant at Shaktinagar, Singrauli.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2020 12:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).