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Curated By: Sanstuti Nath
Last Updated: August 26, 2023, 12:15 IST
Madurai: Flames rise after a fire broke out in a coach of a train at Madurai railway station, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. At least 8 people were killed, according to officials. (PTI Photo)
The party coach had 65 passengers on board and had arrived from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh
At least 10 persons were killed and several others were injured after a fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment in Madurai railway station in the wee hours of Saturday. The fire broke out at 5.15 a.m. in a ‘private party’ coach of Punalur-Madurai Express that was detached and kept at the Madurai Stabling line, Southern Railway said in a statement.
The party coach had 65 passengers on board and had arrived from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. It had started the journey from Lucknow on August 17 and was scheduled to return to Chennai on Sunday and return to Lucknow from there.
How Did The Coatch Catch Fire?
As per the Southern Railway, a “gas cylinder” was “illegally” taken in the train, which led to the blaze.
“The passengers in the private party coach have….smuggled gas cylinder and this has caused the fire,” the statement said.
While the coach was parked in the Madurai Stabling line, some members of the party in the private party coach used the illegally smuggled cooking gas cylinder “unauthorisedly” for preparing tea and snacks.
“This caused the fire in the stabled/parked coach. Most of the passengers could get out of the coach on noticing the fire. Some passengers had already got down at the platform also before the detachment of the coach,” the Southern Railway added.
‘Carrying Infamable Objects Illegal in Private Party Coatch’
Any individual can book a party coach using the IRCTC portal. They are not allowed to carry any inflammable material like gas cylinders. The coach is to be used only for transportation purposes only.
As per laws, carrying inflammable articles is a punishable offense under sections 67, 164, and 165 of the Railways Act of 1989.
‘Took 1.5 Hours to Douse The Fire’
After receiving the news of the fire at 5:15 am, the fire service personnel arrived at the spot half an hour later, but they could only put down the blaze by 7.15 am, a Southern Railway release said.
Police, fire and rescue services personnel besides railway staff, involved in dousing the fire, extricated the charred bodies from the compartment.
Ex Gratia Announced
Ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh was being paid to each of the family of the deceased.
Southern Railway also announced two help line numbers for information related to the fire incident and causalities- 9360552608, 8015681915.
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