A rumour of fire on board the Khajuraho-Udaipur Intercity Express train turned out to be fatal for three women and a boy, who jumped out on tracks and were run over by another long-distance train in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred around 4.15 pm between Hetampur and Dholpur section of Jhansi railway division, they said.

These passengers hurriedly got off the train following a chain pull caused by the fire rumour, an official said.

"Four passengers of the Khajuraho-Udaipur Intercity Express (19665) jumped off a general coach, second from the engine, after panic spread over reports of a fire," North Central Railway's Jhansi division Public Relation Officer Manoj Singh told PTI over phone.

Just then, the Patalkot Express (20424) from Firozpur in Punjab to Seoni in MP, was passing on the adjacent tracks, he added.

The four passengers who alighted from the train, failed to notice the approaching train and were run over by it, leading to their deaths.

The incident triggered panic among other passengers, and railway authorities and police were alerted immediately, he said.

Railway officials, personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) reached the spot for assistance, the PRO said.

The exact cause behind the incident is being probed, Singh said.

Morena Collector Lokesh Kumar Jangid, who rushed to the spot, about 15 km from district headquarters, told PTI that three women and a boy have lost their lives in the accident.

While two women and the minor were from Agra (Uttar Pradesh), one woman hailed from Bikaner (Rajasthan), he added.