Fire on Tamil Nadu Express, 25 Dead, Several Injured
Hyderabad: A coach of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express caught fire near Nellore early this morning. According to Additional DG, Railways, 25 people have died in the incident while several others have been injured.
Fire broke out around 5.30 am in the S11 compartment minutes after the Chennai-bound train left Nellore railway station in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, about 450 km from here.
According to Nellore District Collector Sridhar, the fire was caused due to short circuit near the toilet of the train. The injured have been taken to the Nellore civic hospital. Rescuers have detached the coach of fire from the rest of the train.
While 15 passengers are believed to have jumped down from the burning compartment, there was no official word about others. A total of 72 passengers were travelling in the reserved compartment.
A witness told reporters that many were trapped inside when the flames engulfed the compartment. “I was lucky to come out but many passengers could not escape as two doors were jammed and the smoke spread fast,” said Sudhir.
Fire fighting personnel extinguished the fire and rescue workers were using gas cutters and other equipment to retrieve the bodies.
Ambulances were pressed into service to shift the injured to hospital.
Top officials including district collector and superintendent of police rushed to the scene and supervised rescue and relief work.
