Tamil Nadu: 9 Killed As Massive Fire Breaks Out On Train At Madurai Railway Junction

Based on the preliminary information, a fire broke out on a train at Madurai Railway Junction during attempts to cook food on the train.

A passenger train fire that broke out inside the carriage on Saturday at the Madurai railway station in Tamil Nadu resulted in the death of at least 9 people and 20 other critical injuries. Presently, the rescue operations are underway.

As per IANS' report, six of the deceased were from Uttar Pradesh, and there were 55 passengers in the afflicted coach. As per a statement by Southern Railway, passengers accommodated in a private party coach "illegally smuggled" gas cylinder causing the fire in the train. The fire was doused after the Madurai firefighters arrived at the scene.

PTI quotes Madurai District Collector MS Sangeetha, saying, "Around 5:30 am today, there was fire in a coach halted here at Madurai railway station. There were pilgrims travelling from Uttar Pradesh in it. When they lit the gas stove to make coffee, the gas cylinder blasted. As of now, we have retrieved nine bodies."

The accident happened as passengers prepared to depart for a darshan at the Meenakshi temple as the train was parked in a yard 1km from the Madurai railway station. When the train arrived at the Madurai train station, many passengers had already disembarked.

The “party coach”  carrying the passengers was scheduled to make a return to Chennai tomorrow by Train Number 16824, the Kollam-Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri Express and then return to Lucknow from there.

Railway officers including the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM), and other divisional officers reached the site of the accident to inspect the situation.