LUCKNOW/SITAPUR: Bodies of nine pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, including five from Sitapur district, killed in a fire tragedy in a train coach in Tamil Nadu's Madurai were sent to their families after they reached here on Sunday.
Relief Commissioner Naveen Kumar said the bodies arrived from Chennai at the Chowdhury Charan Singh airport here on two separate flights.
District-wise hearse vehicles were arranged at the airport by the government and the bodies were transported to their respective districts.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak reached the airport to receive the bodies of Manoharman Agarwal (81) and her granddaughter Himani Bansal (22), who hailed from Lucknow.
The duo's bodies were cremated at the Gulala Ghat in Lucknow, Manoharman's son Manoj Agarwal told PTI.
Speaking to PTI, Pathak expressed condolence over the death of the nine persons, adding, "The state government is providing all possible assistance to the families."
Nine persons were killed and eight others injured when a fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment at the Madurai railway station on August 26, the Southern Railway said.
The deceased, bound for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, had last week embarked from Lucknow on the pilgrimage with several others in a private party coach booked by their tour operator, they added.
Officials said that the bodies of five deceased who hailed from Sitapur -- Mithilesh Singh (52), Shatru Daman Singh (65), Harish Kumar Bhasin (60), Ankul Kashyap (32) and Deepak Kashyap (20) -- were sent to their hometown from the state capital by ambulances under the supervision of police and district officials.
Sitapur Additional District Magistrate RB Tiwari told PTI that all five bodies were handed to their families on Sunday evening.
"One of the deceased identified as Deepak Kashyap of Kanshiram locality has been cremated today, while the rest will be cremated as per the decision of their respective families," the ADM said.
Rohit Anand, nephew of deceased tour operator Harish Bhasin said his maternal uncle was in the tour business for a long time and used to take people on pilgrimage.
"We did not expect that this was his last trip. When fire broke out, my maternal uncle came out safely. However, after hearing cries from the train coach, he again entered it to rescue people but succumbed to the fire," Anand told PTI.
Bhasin's last rites would be performed on Monday at a local crematorium in Sitapur, he added.
The family of Mithilesh Singh who died in the tragedy also said that he would be cremated on Monday.
The police and administration are helping the aggrieved families in every possible way and according to directions issued by authorities, ADM RB Tiwari said.
Sita Singh, a member of the pilgrimage group and a resident of Gomti Nagar here, returned safely on a Lucknow-bound flight on Sunday.
Her son Mohit Singh, who came to receive his mother at the airport said the family was worried as they were initially unable to reach out to her over the phone after the incident.
"We were relieved when we could finally speak to her and now she has safely arrived here," Singh said.
Shanti Devi (67) from Lakhimpur Kheri and Parmeshwar Dayal Gupta (57) from Hardoi are the other deceased in the tragedy, apart from the duo from Lucknow and the five persons from Sitapur, officials said.
The Southern Railway said a gas cylinder "illegally" taken inside the coach led to the blaze, which also injured eight persons.
Various angles, including a possible gas leak, having triggered the blaze are being probed, it said.
Bhasin, who too lost his life in the fire, has been identified as the tour operator for this pilgrimage, officials here said on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Government Railway Police (GRP) had filed a case against the "tour operator" but did not identify him.
Following the incident, the Uttar Pradesh government released Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of four deceased persons on Saturday and the details of legal heirs are being verified for giving financial aid to the remaining five, officials said.