Rajkot: Making reels and clicking selfies near railway tracks turned fatal on Monday evening when two friends were killed after being hit by a train on the outskirts of the city.

The incident occurred near the Maldhari railway crossing close to Gondal Chowkdi around 5 pm, as four friends were reportedly trying to take photographs on the railway track moments before the Veraval–Sabarmati BG Vande Bharat Express train passed through.

Officials from the Aji Dam police station said the youths allegedly stepped onto the track to take selfies when the train struck them. Sandeep Patel (20) died on the spot, while two others suffered serious injuries and were rushed to hospital in a 108 emergency ambulance. One of the injured, Sandeep Kohli (23), later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The third youth, Kapil Patel (23), is undergoing treatment and is said to be out of danger, while the fourth friend, Kuldeep Patel, escaped unharmed.

According to officials, after the accident, the train came to a halt at the location for around half an hour before continuing its journey towards Ahmedabad.

Police recovered a mobile phone from the scene containing photos and videos of the group posing on the track shortly before the accident. Preliminary investigations revealed that all four were natives of Uttar Pradesh and worked at a factory near the Maldhari crossing. It is learnt that the friends were headed to the railway station to see off Sandeep Patel, who was planning to return home.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination, and further investigation is underway.DeshGujarat