HYDERABAD: It came as a rude shock for hundreds of passengers travelling in Secunderabad-bound Falaknuma Express from Howrah in West Bengal when it caught fire, barely an hour before it was to arrive at its destination on Friday.
Suddenly, passengers noticed smoke in the S4 bogey which resulted in a stampede-like situation as they were in a hurry to get off the train. In the process, some passengers, in their hurry alight, fell down. In S4 and S5 coaches, the passengers panicked as the flames kept rising and rushed out of the bogey screaming.
When the fire started, a passenger from Palasa of AP pulled the chain. When the train came to a halt, all the passengers got out of the train immediately. A passenger noticed a spark in the power socket a few minutes before the fire broke out. Passengers, who noticed youths smoking, asked them to throw their cigarettes away as they were close to the phone charging sockets.
Another passenger from West Bengal said that the fire broke at about 10.20 am. A woman passenger from Srikakulam said that she helped four to five passengers to alight the train. She, however, said that the passengers saved their lives but lost all their baggage. “When I noticed the fire, I asked my husband to pull the chain which he did. If passengers are safe now, it was because my husband pulled the train in time,” she said.
Another female passenger was upset that she lost her baggage. “I have lost my valuables, cash, return tickets, and Sai Baba Kireetam (crown),” a woman passenger said. She said that they were happy that they were close to Hyderabad and wanted to see the city through the train before they arrived in Secunderabad station. “In minutes, our jolly mood changed and we had to go through a tough time,” she said.
Her husband said: “I have pulled the chain and got down from the train with three children. Later, I tried to collect my baggage. But, could not collect it, as the flames engulfed the coach”. The family was on its way to Shirdi. After taking two days’ rest in Hyderabad, they had planned to visit Shirdi to present the Kireetam (crown) to Baba. But, it was ravaged in the fire.
As the fire raged, passengers lost their valuables, goods and luggage as the bogies were gutted. Some of them had also lost educational certificates and important documents and are coming to Hyderabad to attend their job interviews. Parents were seen rushing out holding on to their young children.
People fled through the nearest door they could find. “It was terrifying watching bogies as the fire engulfed them. The fire was very intense and left nothing except the iron body of the bogey. Everything else has been reduced to cinders. Though I tried to take out my luggage, I couldn’t go inside because the fire was blowing from the windows and doors,” said Srinivas Rao, a passenger. Some of the passengers said that, in the S-4 coach for a reservation of 72 berths, there are over 100 passengers. Some passengers complained to ticket collectors in this regard.