MADURAI: A total of 10 people were reported dead and 20 others sustained serious injuries after a train caught fire in the yard of the Madurai railway station in Tamil Nadu. The Railways ministry has announced an exgratia of Rs 10 lakhs to the families of the deceased.
The fire reportedly broke out in a coach attached to Train no. 16730 - Punalur-Madurai Express. Fire started in the coach at around 5:15 AM when some of the passengers lit a gas stove to make coffee inside the coach. Some of the passengers among the total 65 people onboard managed to get out as the coach caught fire. Fire tenders from nearby locations soon arrived at the location and managed to stop the fire from spreading to other coaches, preventing any further damage.
According to the reports from the railway officials, the coach was booked by a private party named the Bhasin Tours and Travels in Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh. The travellers illegally carried a gas cylinder, a stove, and other inflammable articles which led to the freak fire accident.
It remains to be seen how the passengers managed to smuggle an LPG cylinder into the train. Carrying inflammable objects such as gas cylinders, crackers, acids, kerosene, petrol, thermic welding, stoves, and explosives is a punishable offence under Sections 67, 164, and 165 of the Railways Act of 1989. And in case someone carries such items, a written declaration must be given.
Madurai District Collector MS Sangeetha said, "Around 5.30 am today, there was a fire in a coach halted here at Madurai railway station. There were pilgrims travelling from Uttar Pradesh in it. When they lit the gas stove to make coffee, the gas cylinder blasted. As of now, we have retrieved nine bodies."
The private party coach had started its journey from Lucknow on August 17 and was scheduled to reach Chennai on August 27. Meanwhile, the railway authorities have issued helpline numbers (9360552608, 8015681915) for information related to the fire incident and causalities.
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