At least four passengers were killed and six injured after falling off a moving and overcrowded local train in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday morning, police said.

The incident occurred between Diva and Kopar railway stations when the train was going towards Kasara, a police official said.

The incident occurred probably after commuters hanging from the footboard of two overcrowded trains and their backpacks brushed against each other as the trains passed in opposite directions, railway officials said without confirming the number of fatalities.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed sorrow over the incident and assured that all necessary steps were being taken to support the victims and their families.

An inquiry has been initiated by the Railways into the accident, a statement from the deputy CM's office said.

A police official said that as there was a huge rush during the peak hour, many people were standing at the doors of the train.

While the train was in motion, at least 10 passengers fell down, the official said.

The guard of a train going towards Kasara alerted the railway authorities about the incident, he said.

All the passengers who fell were rushed to a civic-run hospital in Kalwa. Four of them were declared dead on arrival, the official said.

The deceased were in the age group of 30 to 35 years, he said.

The Central Railway's chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila told reporters that eight passengers were found on the railway tracks.

The guard of a Kasara-bound fast local train reported the incident to their control room at around 9.30 am. All the injured persons were rushed to hospital in ambulances by 9.50 am, the official said.

Nila said an injured person informed that commuters fell from local trains travelling in opposite directions after some of those standing on the footboards collided against each other.

He refuted reports that the passengers fell from the Lucknow-bound Pushpak Express which left from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai at around 8.30 am.

Deputy CM Shinde said he was deeply saddened by the incident.

"Thousands of passengers travel on this route every morning. This is a very sad incident. I share the grief of families of the deceased," a statement from Shinde's office quoted him as saying.

The administration has swiftly mobilised medical response units to attend to the injured. Hospitals in Thane and Kalwa have been instructed to provide urgent and comprehensive treatment, the statement said.

"An inquiry has been initiated by the Railways into this accident. This is a very unfortunate incident and the exact cause of the accident will be revealed soon through this inquiry," it said.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member from Thane, Naresh Mhaske demanded a probe into the death of passengers.

"The cause of the incident needs to be addressed. How did they fall...was there a crowd, were they pushed, was there a fight," he told a regional news channel.

Mhaske said, "One can understand if it was a crowded local train. But in this case, the tragedy happened in a moving express train. The administration also needs to be alert." Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council Ambadas Danve in a post on X said the incident of so many people suddenly getting out of the Pushpak Express and resulting in the accident is heartbreaking and serious.

This incident raises questions about railway safety in Mumbai, he said.

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