B'lore-Nanded train fire chars 26 passengers to death in AP

Most of the bodies burnt beyond recognition

Twenty-six people were charred to death and seven suffered burns after a fire broke out on a three-tier AC coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express near Kothacheruvu in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh around 3:30 am on Saturday.

Among the dead were 12 men, as many women and two children. Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. They have been brought to Victoria Hospital in Bangalore for DNA analysis. The bodies will be handed over to the families in three days after the analysis, said Karnataka Home Minister K J George.

The victims were among the 64 people travelling on the B-1 compartment of the train, which left Bangalore City station at 10:45 pm on Friday. Most of the deceased occupied seat numbers one to 20. Many of them were perched on the upper berths.

On noticing the fire, some passengers broke open glass panes in toilet windows and jumped to safety. Railways staff detached the burning coach, thus preventing the fire from spreading to other compartments, said an official at the accident site.

Railway Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge said in Gulbarga that a shortcircuit led to the fire. He ruled out any sabotage. Tanuja, a software engineer who was on the ill-fated coach, told Deccan Herald that the train kept moving for about 15 minutes after the fire was noticed. Smoke had engulfed the entire coach, reducing the visibility.

Rajaram, a guard at the Kothacheruvu railway crossing, said the fire broke out within a few metres of the crossing.

Another passenger N Natesh, who is undergoing treatment at St John’s Hospital here, said first the curtains caught fire, followed by blankets used by the passengers.

Anantapur District Collector D S Lokesh Kumar said seven victims have been identified.

They are Khandobha Kulkarni (32) and Anil Kumar (35) from Bangalore, J Sarvamangala (30) and Basavaraj (64) from Adoni in Andhra Pradesh and  Sudha (62), Leela (62)
and Ramanand (54) from Chennai.

Paramilitary and reserve police force personnel, assisted by the Andhra Pradesh Fire Service and the local police, took nearly five hours to remove  the bodies.

After rescue operations were completed, the train continued with its journey. The gutted coach was removed from the tracks and towed to the Puttaparthi railway station around 11 am. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said he has ordered a probe into the accident by the Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar and member Electrical Kul Bhushan, reports DHNS from Gulbarga.

They have left Delhi for the accident site.  Kharge has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh to the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 to those who suffered minor injuries.