BALASORE: Around 150 passengers had a close shave after fire broke out in a compartment of Bhadrak-Kharagpur MEMU train near Bahanaga railway station here on Thursday. The mishap took place at around 3.45 pm. The fire reportedly broke out due a technical glitch.
Official sources said the pilot of the passenger train was repeatedly applying brakes due to some technical snag. Near Bahanaga railway station, smoke was seen coming out from underneath the last compartment.
On seeing the smoke entering the compartment, some passengers pulled the chain and immediately got down after the train stopped. Soon, railway personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire which had broken out under the compartment.
Over 700 passengers were travelling in the train. Due to the incident, the train halted at Bahanga railway station for more than three hours. It is suspected that repeated use of brakes started the fire.