Tatanagar-Ernakulam Express catches fire in Andhra, one killed

Visakhapatnam: A passenger was killed, and more than 150 had a narrow escape after two AC compartments of the Tatanagar-Ernakulam Junction Super-Fast Express caught fire near Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Monday, police said.

The fire broke out in the train at Yelamanchili in Anakapalli district, about 66 km from Visakhapatnam.

Upon noticing the fire in the running train, a passenger pulled the chain to stop it at Yelamanchili Railway Station and alerted the railway staff, who in turn alerted the fire department.

Four fire engines rushed to the spot and battled the fire for two hours.

The fire services personnel prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining compartments and a goods train on the parallel track.

Both compartments were gutted in the fire. Passengers lost all their luggage.

Anakapalli district Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha told reporters that they received information about the fire at 12:40 a.m.

He said the fire services personnel responded immediately, which averted a major disaster. All passengers were evacuated from both compartments.

There were 82 passengers in the B-1 coach and 75 in the M-2 coach when the train caught fire.

The SP said a dead body was found on the B1 coach.

The deceased has been identified as Chandrasekhar Sundaram (70), a resident of Vijayawada and his family members have been informed, police said.

The two damaged coaches were detached from the train, which proceeded towards Ernakulam, where two other AC coaches were attached.

Two forensic teams are working to ascertain the cause of the fire, the police official said.

South Central Railway Safety Commissioner also visited the spot. He, along with the SP, inspected the gutted compartments.

The fire mishap affected the movement of trains on the route. Godavari and Tirupati-Howrah Express trains heading towards Visakhapatnam were delayed.

Trains scheduled to halt at Yelamanchili are being halted at Visakhapatnam.

Puri-Tirupati, Shalimar-Cherlapalli, Visakhapatnam-Lingampalli and Visakhapatnam-Guntur are among the trains delayed due to a fire incident.

However, trains which are not scheduled to halt at Yelamanchili are running on time.

IANS