New Delhi-Darbhanga Express fire: At least eight passengers were injured as a fire broke out in the New Delhi-Darbhanga Special Express train near Uttar Pradesh's Etawah on Wednesday evening. As many as three coaches of the train were damaged in the fire.
The reason for the fire, which started at approximately 5:30 pm, was not immediately determined. Thick clouds of black smoke were observed emanating from the train coaches.
3 coaches of train damaged
"While one coach was gutted in the fire, two adjacent ones were partially damaged and a fourth coach was filled with smoke. All the four coaches were detached from the train," a police official present at the spot said.
"Many passengers lost their belongings in the incident," he said.
8 people were admitted to Etawah district hospital
Naveen Kumar, the Relief Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh, said that eight people, including four from Bihar, sustained injuries in the fire and were admitted at the Etawah district hospital. "The nature of injuries and other details of these passengers are being ascertained," he said.
Sanjay Kumar, the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Etawah, had initially reported that four individuals incurred minor injuries in the incident. However, based on preliminary information, they were not burn injuries.
Himanshu Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of North Central Railways, said the guard at the Sarai Bhopat junction near Etawah noticed smoke coming out from the New Delhi-Darbhanga Special Express' coach number S1. "The train was immediately stopped and all the passengers were evacuated. Alert railway officials averted a big tragedy today," he added.
Fire due to short circuit
Etawah Superintendent of Police said, “Fire broke out in three coaches of New Delhi-Darbhanga Clone Express in Etawah. Primarily, it seems that fire broke out due to a short circuit. A few people sustained minor injuries but there have not been any casualties. Efforts are underway regarding resuming the journey of the train.”
The railway authorities took measures to accommodate the passengers affected by the incident in the available coaches of the train.
Here are passengers' anecdote
"We somehow got out from the window of the coach when the fire broke out there. There were no proper means to extinguish the fire in the coach. Few people were injured while getting out of the coach," said a passenger who was onboard the New Delhi-Darbhanga Express.
Another passenger said, "I was going to Chhapra. All of a sudden some smoke rose. It felt as if I'd die. There was too much crowd. I jumped out of the window and my luggage caught fire... There were too many people."
(With PTI inputs)
