NALGONDA/ HYDERABAD: The passengers of the Secunderabad-bound Falaknuma Express from Howrah had a miraculous escape on Friday when three bogies were gutted and three others partially damaged in a fire that broke out in the train between Bommaipalli and Pagidipalli near the Bibinagar railway station.
A catastrophic mishap was averted when some passengers showed the presence of mind to pull the chain and stop the train after noticing smoke in one of the bogies. As the accident took place during the afternoon hours, all the passengers were awake and got off the train before the flames spread.
According to sources, the fire broke out in the S4 coach, and then the flames spread to S2, S3, S5, S6, and S7 bogies. Though the flames were devouring the bogies, fire tenders reached the spot late as they had to negotiate through narrow roads to reach the spot.
According to the South Central Railway, five coaches - S2 to S6 - were affected in the mishap.
Immediately after noticing the smoke, the train was brought to a halt and the railway staff on the train helped the passengers get down.
Though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, preliminary reports suggested that an electric short circuit might have ignited the flames. Learning about the mishap, SCR General Manager Arun Kumar Jain rushed to the spot along with a team of officials.
An accident relief train and a medical relief train were also rushed to the spot. The GM supervised the rescue and relief operations at the spot including provision of transport arrangements to the affected passengers.
Later, DGP Anjani Kumar tweeted: “All passengers are safely evacuated and shifted in buses after a fire broke out in the Falaknuma Express near Bhongir rural police station limits. Police, fire department, and railways are working in coordination. So far, no fatalities have been reported. Out of 18 coaches, 11 are detached and taken away safely.”
Buses and a train were pressed into service to ferry the stranded passengers of the Falakmuma Express to the Secunderabad station. The unaffected coaches were detached and moved to Secunderabad. A help desk was set up at the Secunderabad Railway Station to provide information to the relatives of the passengers. After the section was cleared off the affected coaches, the movement of trains resumed at about 5.55 pm. Train No. 17229 (empty rake) was the first to move in the section.
What made the railway officials remain on the edge was that the mishap occurred days after a person from BHEL wrote to the South Central Railway that a train accident similar to the one that had occurred in Odisha claiming the lives of 290 passengers would soon take place in the SCR. The Gopalapuram police who have arrested the person are investigating the genuineness of his claim.
The railway CPRO said that the reasons for the accident could be known only after the probe was completed. He said that the latest accident had nothing to do with the letter they had received. According to some passengers, there were about 100 travelling in the ill-fated S-4 coach though its capacity is only 72. En route to Secunderabad, several people who had no berth reservations boarded the train, they said.