Nellore: At least 32 passengers were charred to death and 27 injured when a sleeper bogie of train no. 12622 New Delhi-Chennai superfast Tamil Nadu Express caught fire mysteriously in the wee hours of Monday.
Injured passengers have been admitted to different nearby hospitals. The dead bodies are yet to be identified.
According to reports, while the train was passing Nellore Station, Gateman of Level Crossing Gate noticed the fire in S-11 coach and informed Dy. Station Superintendent of Nellore who managed to stop the train after the Old South Cabin of Nellore Station.
Medical relief was immediately dispatched through Accident Relief Medical Train from Bitragunta station. Fire Brigades from Nellore reached the site and extinguished the fire.
Helpline numbers were also set up at important stations all along the route of the ill-fated train. A special train carrying relatives of affected passengers was also arranged from Chennai to Nellore.
Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy high level probe into the incident and announced an enhanced ex-gratia amount of Rs. 5/- lakh to the next of the kin of each deceased, Rs. 1/- lakh for grievously injured and Rs. 25,000/- for simple injured passenger of the affected coach on humanitarian ground.
The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.
The General Manger of all Zonal Railways are being instructed to exercise extra vigil as well as launch a special safety drive regarding precautions to be taken to avoid recurrence of such accidents.