Tamil Nadu: 10 dead, 20 injured in massive train fire
What's the story
At least 10 people have lost their lives, while over 20 were injured after a massive fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment at the Madurai Railway Station in Tamil Nadu on Saturday morning. As per the news agency PTI, the Southern Railway said that an "illegal gas cylinder" onboard might have been the cause of the fire.
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Check out visuals from Madurai Railway Station
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Fire reported in private/individual coach at Madurai yard at 5:15 am today in Punalur-Madurai Express. Fire services have arrived and put off the fire and no damage has caused to another coaches. The passengers have allegedly smuggled gas cylinder that caused… pic.twitter.com/5H7wQeGu93
— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2023
Details
Fire broke out around 5am: Report
According to PTI, the blaze broke out at around 5:15am inside a "private party coach" that had arrived from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and was parked at the railway yard in Madurai. However, the adjacent coaches of the train did not sustain any damage as fire tenders were called in immediately, and they reportedly doused the fire by 7:15am.
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Madurai district collector reacts to incident
Reacting to the development, Madurai District Collector MS Sangeetha started, "Around 5:30am today, there was a fire in a coach halted here at Madurai Railway Station. There were pilgrims traveling 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," India Today quoted Sangeetha as saying.
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55 people rescued so far: Madurai collector
Providing further details, Sangeetha also revealed that a total of 55 people were rescued, and the "private party coach" had started its journey from Lucknow on August 17 and was set to reach Chennai on Sunday. Meanwhile, top officials like the additional divisional railway manager (ADRM), divisional railway manager (DRM), and others have also reportedly visited the incident site.
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Rs. 10 lakh ex-gratia announced for victims
Following the train fire incident, the Southern Railway has announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each for the kin of the deceased, reported Hindustan Times. Furthermore, the Southen Railway has also announced two helpline numbers for those looking for more details regarding the incident and the casualties. The numbers are 8015681915 and 9360552608.