In a bizarre rail accident, an unauthorised man ran an electric train for about seven kms unnoticed before ramming it into a goods train, leaving six people dead and 11 others injured near Vyasarpadi Jeeva station in the city's northwestern suburbs.

As the Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) parked in the Moore Market complex was about to be moved by the unauthorised man, some passengers boarded the train believing it was a regular service, Railway sources said. Southern Railway General Manager M S Jayanth said the train started unauthorisedly half-an-hour earlier than scheduled and went on a wrong line, colliding with a departmental train hauling empty wagons. The train was to start at 5:15 am. How it happened is a matter of inquiry, Jayantan said.