PALAKKAD: Four cleanliness workers, including two women from Tamil Nadu, were killed after being hit by the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Kerala Express near Shoranur Railway Station on Saturday evening, the Railway police said.

The New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram train struck the workers around 3.05 pm while they were clearing garbage from the railway track near Shoranur bridge, located a few kilometers from the railway station.

The workers, contracted by the Railways for cleanliness duties, were thrown from the track due to the collision's impact. While three bodies were retrieved from the area, efforts are being made to locate the fourth, which is suspected to have fallen into the Bharathapuzha River, police said.

A team from the Railway Police reached the spot.

"The workers may not have noticed the approaching train, which resulted in the accident, but further investigations are underway," said an officer with Shoranur Railway Police.