Nine burnt alive as fire breaks out in Bandra-Dehradun train
9 Jan 2014 12:33 AM GMT
The fire erupted in one coach and soon spread to other two coaches when the passengers were sleeping at about 2.50 am.
A woman and four men are among the nine dead while the rest were yet to be identified, said Western Railway PRO Sharat Chandra. Four persons sustained minor injuries, said police.
The blaze-affected coaches were S-2 S-3 and S-4 which carried the maximum numbers of passengers (64) followed by 54 in S-2 and three in S-3.
The train continued on its journey later in the morning after the three burnt carriages were detached and the fire was extinguished, Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said.
Many passengers managed to escape from the burning and smoke-filled coaches by breaking open the back doors, a survivor said.
Railway sources said short circuit cannot be ruled out in Wednesday's incident as burnt cables were found under the electric board of S-3 coach.
Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge ordered 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 Rs 50,000 to those who received minor injuries, Kumar said.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the fire incident, he said.
Fire mishaps on trains continue, safety drives fail
New Delhi: Despite a number of safety drives carried out by railways, fire accidents continue to take place, raising serious questions over the effectiveness of the national transporter’s preparedness.
There were 10 major fire incidents on trains since 2012 which claimed 65 lives besides causing a damage to the railways to the tune of around Rs 8 crore.
Realising the seriousness of the situation, the railways is now planning to introduce an Australian technology to make fire alarms efficient.
There was also a minor fire incident on Wednesday in the Lucknow Shatabdi due to brake jam.
Smoke started emanating from the wheels of the Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express triggering panic among train passengers in the morning at Ghaziabad station on Wednesday.
Earlier on 28 December, an air-conditioned coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express train caught fire in the early hours in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh, killing 26 people and injuring 13 others.
On 30 Jun, 2012, 35 passengers were killed and 25 others injured when a coach of the Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express caught fire near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
Though railways claim to have taken various measures to prevent fire in trains, recurrence of such mishaps on regular basis is a matter of concern for the government.
‘We are introducing a new Australian technology for fire alarm system in our AC coaches as the earler sytem tried in Bhubaneswar Rajdhani was found not foolproof. The new system is on trial in Jammu Rajdhani,’ a Railway official said. Similar automatic fire alarm system will be fitted in 20 trains in future.
A woman and four men are among the nine dead while the rest were yet to be identified, said Western Railway PRO Sharat Chandra. Four persons sustained minor injuries, said police.
The blaze-affected coaches were S-2 S-3 and S-4 which carried the maximum numbers of passengers (64) followed by 54 in S-2 and three in S-3.
The train continued on its journey later in the morning after the three burnt carriages were detached and the fire was extinguished, Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said.
Many passengers managed to escape from the burning and smoke-filled coaches by breaking open the back doors, a survivor said.
Railway sources said short circuit cannot be ruled out in Wednesday's incident as burnt cables were found under the electric board of S-3 coach.
Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge ordered 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 Rs 50,000 to those who received minor injuries, Kumar said.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the fire incident, he said.
Fire mishaps on trains continue, safety drives fail
New Delhi: Despite a number of safety drives carried out by railways, fire accidents continue to take place, raising serious questions over the effectiveness of the national transporter’s preparedness.
There were 10 major fire incidents on trains since 2012 which claimed 65 lives besides causing a damage to the railways to the tune of around Rs 8 crore.
Realising the seriousness of the situation, the railways is now planning to introduce an Australian technology to make fire alarms efficient.
There was also a minor fire incident on Wednesday in the Lucknow Shatabdi due to brake jam.
Smoke started emanating from the wheels of the Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express triggering panic among train passengers in the morning at Ghaziabad station on Wednesday.
Earlier on 28 December, an air-conditioned coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express train caught fire in the early hours in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh, killing 26 people and injuring 13 others.
On 30 Jun, 2012, 35 passengers were killed and 25 others injured when a coach of the Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express caught fire near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
Though railways claim to have taken various measures to prevent fire in trains, recurrence of such mishaps on regular basis is a matter of concern for the government.
‘We are introducing a new Australian technology for fire alarm system in our AC coaches as the earler sytem tried in Bhubaneswar Rajdhani was found not foolproof. The new system is on trial in Jammu Rajdhani,’ a Railway official said. Similar automatic fire alarm system will be fitted in 20 trains in future.
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