Nellore: At least 32 passengers were charred to death and wounded 27 when a bogie bed New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express super (No 12622) caught fire mysteriously in the early hours of Monday. The reserved bogie S-11 caught fire in full bogie 4:22 a.m. and emptied in 20 minutes without leaving a chance for passengers to sleep to escape.
While some of the passengers were burned beyond recognition, some were reduced to ashes. This is the second major railway accident in Andhra Pradesh within two months of 25 passengers died on 22 May, when Bello-Bangalore Hampi Express collided with a goods train standing at the station Penukonda in Anantapur district .
More than 15 bodies were found near the exit door gives an indication that they were all burned alive while trying to escape. The victims were drowned to death as fire and smoke enveloped them even before they woke up from sleep. The incident took place shortly after the train passes through Nellore station at 4.15 am. The doorman near Vedayapalem level railway crossing saw the smoke and flames in the truck and alerted authorities. The driver of the train brought to a sudden halt after some terrified passengers pulled the chain. The train was running at a speed of about 70 mph at the time.
The fire engulfed the train in a short time because the winds that sweep the area in the early hours. Smoke and fire spread from one end of the car to the front where more number of passengers who were sleeping near the exit point. Passengers who took the numbers from 25 to 70 berths were the most affected. While about 25 from the rear end ran to the north side and escaped with wounds, trying to reach the southern exit were charred to death. Some others were burned in their beds, even before they could wake up. "The bogie was like a mass crematorium, where several charred bodies were found in a heap," said a rescuer.
While 72 passengers traveling in reserved bogie, eyewitnesses said at least half a dozen passengers without reservations had also addressed the bogie. About 27 passengers were rescued and admitted to various hospitals in Nellore and 10 others believed to have escaped the fire by jumping off the train. The computer system in the train shortly after arriving at the place of other linked bogies from the ill-fated S-11 truck and saved the passengers from being trapped in the fire.
The Ministry of Railways ordered a high-level research on the incident. Additional DG, the Government Railway Police, VSK Kaumudi said the special investigation teams were rushed to the scene to determine the cause of the accident. Although it is speculated that the accident could be an act of sabotage, district collector and SP B Sridhar Ramana Kumar, who were the first on the scene of an accident, refuted the charge. It was made clear that a short in the train that caused the fire. "There is no possibility of sabotage or conspiracy of anti-social elements behind the disgrace," said SP TOI. The railway authorities, however, said the cause of the fire remains to be proven, as they claimed that the janitor heard a loud noise before the fire engulfed the bogie. Anurag and divisional railway manager, said that after a thorough inspection of the train by forensic experts, the exact cause of the mishap could be determined.
The injured passengers were taken to several hospitals, including hospitals Jaibharathi Super Speciality, People Polyclinic, Hospital and Hospital Bollineni government. According to initial information provided by the railway authorities, 28 passengers boarded the train station in Vijayawada. At least 17 passengers were traveling from New Delhi, 11 Bhopal, 7 Warangal, 6 Jhansi, Agra and a 3 of Nagpur.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the families of those killed in the crash, while the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy asked the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured passengers. As instructed by the state government, the authorities made arrangements for carrying out post-mortem at the train station.
While some of the passengers were burned beyond recognition, some were reduced to ashes. This is the second major railway accident in Andhra Pradesh within two months of 25 passengers died on 22 May, when Bello-Bangalore Hampi Express collided with a goods train standing at the station Penukonda in Anantapur district .
More than 15 bodies were found near the exit door gives an indication that they were all burned alive while trying to escape. The victims were drowned to death as fire and smoke enveloped them even before they woke up from sleep. The incident took place shortly after the train passes through Nellore station at 4.15 am. The doorman near Vedayapalem level railway crossing saw the smoke and flames in the truck and alerted authorities. The driver of the train brought to a sudden halt after some terrified passengers pulled the chain. The train was running at a speed of about 70 mph at the time.
The fire engulfed the train in a short time because the winds that sweep the area in the early hours. Smoke and fire spread from one end of the car to the front where more number of passengers who were sleeping near the exit point. Passengers who took the numbers from 25 to 70 berths were the most affected. While about 25 from the rear end ran to the north side and escaped with wounds, trying to reach the southern exit were charred to death. Some others were burned in their beds, even before they could wake up. "The bogie was like a mass crematorium, where several charred bodies were found in a heap," said a rescuer.
While 72 passengers traveling in reserved bogie, eyewitnesses said at least half a dozen passengers without reservations had also addressed the bogie. About 27 passengers were rescued and admitted to various hospitals in Nellore and 10 others believed to have escaped the fire by jumping off the train. The computer system in the train shortly after arriving at the place of other linked bogies from the ill-fated S-11 truck and saved the passengers from being trapped in the fire.
The Ministry of Railways ordered a high-level research on the incident. Additional DG, the Government Railway Police, VSK Kaumudi said the special investigation teams were rushed to the scene to determine the cause of the accident. Although it is speculated that the accident could be an act of sabotage, district collector and SP B Sridhar Ramana Kumar, who were the first on the scene of an accident, refuted the charge. It was made clear that a short in the train that caused the fire. "There is no possibility of sabotage or conspiracy of anti-social elements behind the disgrace," said SP TOI. The railway authorities, however, said the cause of the fire remains to be proven, as they claimed that the janitor heard a loud noise before the fire engulfed the bogie. Anurag and divisional railway manager, said that after a thorough inspection of the train by forensic experts, the exact cause of the mishap could be determined.
The injured passengers were taken to several hospitals, including hospitals Jaibharathi Super Speciality, People Polyclinic, Hospital and Hospital Bollineni government. According to initial information provided by the railway authorities, 28 passengers boarded the train station in Vijayawada. At least 17 passengers were traveling from New Delhi, 11 Bhopal, 7 Warangal, 6 Jhansi, Agra and a 3 of Nagpur.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the families of those killed in the crash, while the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy asked the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured passengers. As instructed by the state government, the authorities made arrangements for carrying out post-mortem at the train station.
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