Three others travelling in the ill-fated jeep (MH-16 E 210) who received serious injuries have been admitted to the civil hospital in Ahmednagar. The jeep driver is among the three who have been hospitalised.The mishap took place around 2:10 am near Nepti Naka point between Nimbalak and Ahmednagar railway stations.

Such was the impact of the collision that eight persons died on the spot, while three others succumbed on the way to the hospital.

All the 14 passengers in the jeep hailed from Eknathwadi village of Pathardi taluka in Ahmednagar district. They were sugarcane cutters and were returning home late in the night after the elections of the Vighnahar Cooperative Sugar factory at Junnar.

According to the police, the gates at the crossing have been closedpermanently as work on a railway overbridge is in progress. A gateman was also posted there to alert people.

Police said the jeep driver tried to cross the railway line through a transitory road near the gate. He did not see the train coming from the other direction and while crossing, the wheels of the jeep got stuck in the rails. The gateman shouted to the driver asking him not to cross the railway line but the latter ignored him.

The 7384 Up Maharashtra Express which came at full speed dashed against the vehicle killing eight persons on the spot. The cattle-guard of the engine was damaged in the mishap.

The deceased were identified as Raghunath Bhima Khedkar (42), Maruti Khedkar (30), Adinath Khedkar (45), Babu Kisan Khedkar (45), Bappaji Trimbak Khedkar (55), Dinkar Bapu Khedkar (40), Kakasaheb Maruti Khedkar (28), Sampat Nana Khedkar (25), Bhagwat Narayan Khedkar (55), Shankar Bapu Ware, and Datta Shivaji Sonwar (18).

The injured who have been admitted to the civil hospital in Ahmednagar areBabasaheb Pappaji Khedkar (30), Pandharinath Hiraji Khedkar (62), and the jeep driver Mahadev Tulshiram Sol (30), a resident of Mith Sangvi of Pathardi taluka.