A passenger on board the Delhi-Kanpur Neelachal Express died on Friday after being impaled by an iron rod that broke through a glass window of the coach and struck him in the neck, an official said.

The freak accident took place around 8.45 am between Danwar and Somna in the Prayagraj division of the North Central Railway, the railway spokesperson said.

“One person died in the general coach by an external object (iron rod) which damaged the window. The train was stopped at the Aligarh junction at 09.23 hrs,” the railway spokesperson said.

The deceased was identified as Hrishekesh Dubey (34), a native of Sultanpur who was living in Delhi. He was sitting by the window when the iron rod pierced his neck.

Sources said some work was underway on the tracks when the incident happened.

“He is survived by his parents, wife Shalini and two children, daughter Arya (7) and son Ayansh (4),” Rajeev said.

“The incident occurred some 35 km before Aligarh railway station. The railway staff stopped the train at Aligarh and took Hrishekesh Dubey to hospital where the doctors declared him dead,” Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) of North Central Railway (NCR) Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay said.

“The body has been sent for postmortem examination and a probe has been ordered in the matter,” the CPRO added.

 Meanwhile, a pall of gloom has shrouded the house of Dubey in Sultanpur. Hrishekesh Dubey was a native of Gopinathpur village under Chanda police station area of Sultanpur.

“Dubey was employed with a private firm in Delhi. He was on his way to attend a marriage function in Lucknow,” deceased’s cousin Rajeev Dubey told PTI.