Visakhapatnam: One person was killed after two compartments of the Tatanagar-Ernakulam Express caught fire at Yalamanchili, about 66 km from here, police said on Monday.
The police received information about the fire at 12:45 am.
A police official told reporters that there were 82 passengers in one of the affected coaches and 76 in another when the train caught fire.
Officials said the fire originated in the B1 coach and spread to the B2 coach. As a precaution, the affected coaches, along with the adjacent M1 coach, were promptly detached from the rest of the train, preventing the blaze from spreading further. Both fire-hit coaches were completely gutted.
An official added that there were 82 passengers in one of the affected coaches and 76 in another at the time of the incident. “Unfortunately, a dead body was found in the B1 coach,” the official said. The victim was identified as Chandrasekhar Sundaram.
The train was travelling from Tatanagar in Churu district of Rajasthan to Kerala’s Ernakulam when the fire was detected. Amid scenes of fear and confusion, railway officials confirmed that all other passengers are safe.
Officials said that the train left after separating the two bogies and alternative arrangements have been made for the remaining passengers.
The authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.
