Nine killed as train catches fire

Mumbai: Nine persons were charred to death in their sleep when a fire broke out in three coaches of the Bandra-Dehradun Express in neighbouring Thane district in the wee hours today, the second fire mishap on a train within a fortnight.

The fire erupted in one of the three coaches and soon spread to other two coaches when the passengers were sleeping at about 2.50 AM. Among the nine dead, one is a woman and four are men while the rest were yet to be identified, said Western Railway PRO Sharat Chandra. Four persons have sustained minor injuries, said police.

The affected coaches were S-2 S-3 and S-4. The maximum numbers of passengers were in S-4 (64) followed by 54 in S-2 and three in S-3. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has expressed grief over the death of passengers and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of those killed. Rs one lakh will be given to those seriously injured and a sum of Rs 50,000 will be given to those who received minor injuries, Chairman, Railway Board, Arunendra Kumar said. The commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the fire incident, he said.

"The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, the fire has been put out and the train has made its forward journey," Kumar said. Railway sources said short circuit cannot be ruled out as burnt cables were found lying under the electric board of S-3 coach. Chandra said that a gateman at a level crossing spotted the fire and immediately alerted the guard inside the train. The guard subsequently informed the motorman following which the train was stopped.

"Due to alertness of the gateman, a major disaster was averted," Chandra said. The train was halted at Gholvad Railway Station near Dahanu road where the fire was brought under control. Northern Railways have announced helpine numbers -23342954 and 24355954 -to those seeking information on the train and passengers.

The accident comes within days of the Bangalore train tragedy. 26 people, including two children, were killed and 12 injured when a fire broke out in the Bangalore-Nanded Express on December 28.