Madurai (Tamil Nadu): Locals living adjacent to the Madurai - Bodi Line railway yard jolted out of their beds to the wailings of the train fire victims, during the small hours of Saturday morning. The first responders took it upon themselves the act of alerting the Madurai Station Master.
One of them ran to the Station Master's office while some alerted the Fire Station in the vicinity. The locals who helped douse the fire along with Tamil Nadu Fire & Rescue Services Personnel in which 9 people lost their lives, shared how the incident took place.
Madurai resident Mannan, one of the eyewitnesses of the horrific fire incident, said that while the residents of the neighbourhood tried to save the trapped passengers, they could not even get close to the coach due to the excruciating heat and flares it was engulfed in.
"I live near the place where the train fire happened. Early morning, I was rattled out of my sleep after I heard screams. As I jumped out of my bed and rushed to the spot, I saw some people jumping from the burning train," Mannan recounted the horror tale.
While Mannan and a few others were attempting to somehow rescue the passengers, others, meanwhile informed the nearby SS Colony fire station. As the fire department and the public attempted to put out the fire, it was a tough ask to save the passengers considering the heat and flares the train was covered in. "Majority of the victims were passengers lying on the top of the sleeper compartments," Mannan said.
The fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment at the railway station here killing at least nine pilgrims bound for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, the Southern Railway said.
The fire was triggered after the passengers had managed to bring an LPG cylinder into the coach. The private party had illegally carried a gas cylinder, stove and other inflammable articles which led to the freak fire accident, according to Railway authorities probing the incident. Among the items found at the spot were an LPG cylinder, a bag of potatoes, damaged utensils and wooden logs, giving ample indications of attempts to cook food.
While Mannan was among the locals trying to help, some of the passengers also turned heroes as they managed to save several if not all lives. Among those was Shiv Pratap Singh Chauhan, a traveller from Uttar Pradesh who lost his wife in the incident. He lamented that while he managed to save five people from the burning coach, he could not save his wife Mithilesh Kumari and brother-in-law Shatrukanan Singh.
Chauhan valiantly managed to pull some people out before he fainted outside due to heavy smoke and could not breathe. Recounting the horror, Chauhan told ETV Bharat, "Upon the explosion of the illicit LPG cylinder, an intense blaze erupted within the confines of the private coach. In my desperate efforts, I managed to pull four to five individuals from the jaws of the fire. However, as the smoke thickened, I succumbed to unconsciousness, unable to rescue my wife and dear brother-in-law."
Also read: Madurai Train Fire: Man, who lost wife, brother-in-law, saved five pilgrims before fainting
When ETV Bharat spoke to some other survivors, they said that a company called Basin Tours and Travels, which had organized the tour, had also arranged and provided two cylinders. Some people had closed the doors when the train caught fire and due to this, they were not able to get out, a survivor said requesting anonymity.
The fire broke out at 5.15 am on Saturday and Fire service personnel who arrived at the spot half an hour later put down the blaze by 7.15 am. "This is a private party coach that was attached at Nagercoil Junction yesterday (Aug 25) by train no. 16730 (Punalur-Madurai Exp). The party coach was detached and kept at Madurai Stabling line. The passengers in the private party coach have....smuggled gas cylinder and this has caused the fire," Southern Railway said.
The party coach had started the journey from Lucknow on August 17, scheduled to return to Chennai on Sunday and proceed to the UP capital from there on, it added.
Railways has announced helpline numbers for getting information related to incidents. It has requested people to contact two mobile numbers 9360552608 and 8015681915. The Railway Protection Force Police and the SS Colony Police Station have registered a case and are investigating.
Officials have said that only 6 of the 9 dead have been identified. They identified them as Parameshwar Dyat Gupta, Damansingh Chanduru, Heman Panwal, Nitish Kumori, Shanti Devi and Mano Verma Agar. The bodies of 3 people were burnt beyond recognition. Officials said all the deceased were above 50 years of age. Two male corpses and one female corpse could not be identified. The injured are undergoing treatment at Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin said in a statement that he has advised the officials and doctors to provide appropriate treatment to the injured. He said that arrangements are being made by the government to take the bodies of the deceased to their hometowns. Stalin also said that he has ordered Rs 3 lakh each from the Chief Minister's relief fund to the families of the deceased.
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