Railway Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge has announced ex-gratia payment of Rs.5 lakh to the kin of those killed in a fire in the coaches of Bangalore-Nanded Express early Saturday.
At least 26 passengers, including two children, were killed when two coaches of the express train from Bangalore caught fire near Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, about 150 km from here, a railway official said.
The ill-fated train left Bangalore late Friday at 10.45 p.m. for an overnight journey to Nanded in Maharashtra, about 830 km from here.