Two Class XII boys died and another was critically injured when a train hit them while they were playing mobile games sitting on railway tracks at Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas on Wednesday evening.

Atanu Biswas, 17, Subhojit Pal, 18, and Joy Dey, 18, were playing games on their mobile phones with earphones on, oblivious that a Bongaon-bound train was approaching fast.

GRP sources said Atanu and Subhojit, who were scheduled to appear in the higher secondary examination this year, had died on the spot.

Local sources said Joy, who is also scheduled to take the HS exam this year, was rushed to Chandpara rural hospital. He was later shifted to a hospital in Calcutta.

The sources said the boys did not notice the fast approaching train and when they tried to move away, it was too late.

“They used to play games sitting on the tracks. We had told them many times not to play mobile games while sitting on the tracks, but they cared little. Today, they could not even hear the sound of the approaching train as they were wearing earphones. We tried to alert them but failed to draw their attention,” said Sudip Mandal, a resident of Simultala in Thakurnagar where the two boys lived.