More than 35 People Killed in Tamil Nadu Express Fire Accident :
New Delhi: At least 35 people were killed when a fire broke out in one of the second-class sleeper coaches of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu express near Nellore at around 4:22 this morning.
Railway officials suspect the train caught fire because of a short-circuit in a coach, although they have not confirmed the cause of the fire.
Nellore district collector B. Sreedhar said the death toll could rise further. “We have been able to visually spot 35 bodies. Since the bodies are piled on top of each other, the number of dead may be more,” he said. Out of the 26 injured, two have sustained serious burns, Sreedhar said.
The injured have been admitted to the government hospital, Bollineni hospital, People’s Poly clinic and Jai Bharat hospital in Nellore, while post mortems are being conducted on the 17 bodies that have been recovered.
Railways has announced a compensation of Rs5 lakh to the kin of the deceased, Rs1 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs25,000 to those with minor injuries.
In a statement, Railways said an inquiry into the accident under the commissioner of railway safety, south central railway, has been ordered. Railway board chairman Vinay Mittal and member, electrical, of the board Kul Bhushan are reaching the site of the accident, the statement said.
shubham.s@livemint.com
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