A fire broke out in a tourist coach of a train that was en route from Lucknow to Rameshwaram near Madurai railway station, leaving nine people dead and 20 others injured.
At least nine people died and 20 others sustained injuries after a major fire erupted on a train at Tamil Nadu’s Madurai railway station on Saturday. The Railways has announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of deceased. The blaze was reported at nearly 5:15 am inside a private party coach, while the train was parked at the Madurai yard.
The adjacent coaches of the train did not suffer any damage as the fire tenders were immediately called in and the flames were doused by nearly 7 am.
According to the details, as many as 65 passengers from Lucknow were onboard the coach, which was engulfed in flames.
While the coach was parked at the yard, some passengers reportedly used illegally smuggled cooking gas cylinders to prepare tea and snacks, thus, giving way to the fire.
Commenting on the incident, 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 begun its journey from Lucknow on August 17 and was scheduled to reach Chennai by Sunday.
Helpline numbers (9360552608, 8015681915) were provided to share information related to the fire incident and causalities.