Jalgaon, Jan 22 (PTI): At least 10 train passengers were killed after stepping down due to a rumour of fire and being run over by another train passing on the adjacent tracks in North Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening, officials said.

Ten to twelve persons had died, Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan told a news channel, citing information given by the district collector.

The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora where the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express had halted after someone pulled the chain due to a rumour of fire around 5 pm, Central Railway officials said.

Some passengers of Pushpak Express stepped down, and were hit by the oncoming Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi, said Central Railway's chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila.

The accident spot is more than 400 km away from Mumbai.

"Our preliminary information is that there were sparks inside one of the coaches of Pushpak Express due to either `hot axle' or `brake-binding' (jamming), and some passengers panicked. They pulled the chain, and some of them jumped down. At the same time, Karnataka Express was passing," a senior railway official told PTI.

"Senior officials are reaching the spot, after which more information will be available," said Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil who is also the guardian minister of Jalgaon.

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Chennai (PTI): VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Thursday said that his party received a request from TVK for support and the high-level committee of his party will decide whether to support the Vijay-led party to form the government.

The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly and emerged as the single largest party. Vijay will have to resign from one of the two constituencies he has won.

Though the Congress party, which has five MLAs, has extended support to TVK, the actor-politician-led party was still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark in the 234-member House.

"We received the request letter from TVK. We are thankful for that. We have not ignored his (Vijay's) request. We have a procedure. Therefore, our party's high-level committee will decide soon. We are going to discuss the merits and demerits of our position," the VCK leader told reporters here.

With regard to the delay in the governor's call to the TVK, which is the single largest party, to form the government, Thirumavalavan requested the governor to invite Vijay to form the government. "It is a constitutional right and people's verdict," he added.

Asserting that the governor cannot say that Vijay should hold 118 MLAs' support now itself to form the government, he said that after taking over power, Vijay has to prove an absolute majority only on the floor of the Assembly.