By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : Five coaches of Gautami Express were gutted in a massive fire accident in Warangal district, killing at least four passengers in the wee hours of Friday, police said. The train was going from Secunderabad to Kakinada.
The Warangal district superintendent of police VC Sajjanar, who had reached the scene of the accident said that the fire broke out in coach S-10 at around 1 am and spread to four other bogies. The accident occurred soon after the train had crossed K Samudram station between on Warangal-Khammam section.
“The passengers pulled the chain to stop the train immediately after the fire broke out and people started jumping out of the train”, he said.
Those killed include three handicapped persons and a pregnant woman. Another four passengers were seriously injured.
The cause of the fire was yet to be established but Sajjanar said that a short circuit appears to have caused fire in which five bogies were gutted. S-9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 were gutted in the fire, he said.
A special relief train was sent from Secunderabad with medical staff and it has reached the scene of the accident this morning. Sajjanar said that as the train was stuck at a place not accessible by the road, it was creating hurdles in relief and rescue operations. “We have to walk for two kms to reach the scene of the accident, about five kms from K Samudram station”, he said.
The four seriously injured were first taken to nearby Mypadu hospital and later shifted to Warangal.
State Minister for animal husbandry G Surya Rao was among the passengers of the train but he escaped unhurt.
As the parallel line was open for the traffic, a special train was being arranged to take the stranded passengers to their destination.
The accident has brought the train service to a halt on Warangal-Khammam section and many long distance trains have been diverted or stopped. Delhi-Visakhapatnam Hazrat Nizamuddin Express was stopped at Warangal. Nizamabad-Tirupati express and many other trains were cancelled.