Sanitation Workers Killed by Train Hired Ahead of Minister’s Visit : Valley Vision

The sanitation workers who got struck by a train were specifically hired to clean the railway track ahead of the scheduled passage of Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The tragic incident occurred when the New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Express struck them at approximately 3:05 pm on Saturday near Kerala’s Shoranur Railway Station.

The four sanitation contract workers were part of a team of ten assigned to clean the track in anticipation of the minister’s visit.

“They were contract workers, with a total of 10 deployed in this area. A union minister is scheduled to pass through here tomorrow—likely Ashwini Vaishnaw—so the area was being cleaned in preparation. There’s a lot of waste around here, and the workers were returning after clearing it when the train tragically struck them,” Asianet News quoted a local as saying.

The source further added that the workers were not regular contractors and were hired solely for this task, with even the contractor reportedly unaware of the details of the deceased.

The victims, originally from Vizhipuram in Salem, Tamil Nadu, had been temporarily residing in Ottappalam for the duration of the job. While three bodies were recovered from the scene, authorities believe the fourth may have been thrown into the nearby Bharathapuzha River, and search efforts are ongoing.