A mystery fire broke out in a sleeper class coach of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express early this morning, killing 32 passengers and injuring 25 others in one of worst mishaps in the region, which Railway Minister Mukul Roy suggested could be due to sabotage.
It was an inferno on wheels as the superfast express train from Delhi to Chennai was travelling at a speed of over 100 km per hour when the tragedy struck the train a little after 4 am.
The fire, suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in one of the toilets, claimed the lives of 19 men, six women and three children, who were fast asleep at the time of the accident. It was first noticed by the Nellore station manager at 4.15 am and the train was immediately brought to a halt.
There were reports that the S-11 coach, which carried more than 70 passengers, had a malfunctioning door that led to passengers rushing to the other end for escape. This could have also been the reason why there were more casualties, eyewitnesses said.
The number of dead was put at 32 by Additional DG Railway Police in Hyderabad V S K Kaumudi. Twenty-five people were injured in the accident and have been admitted to different hospitals.
Suggesting there was something more than what meets the eye, the railway minister, who was in Kolkata, said, "a gateman at one of the level crossings near Nellore station heard a loud sound when the fire occurred in the coach".
The minister, who has ordered an inquiry by D K Singh, Commissioner of Railway Safety of South-Central Circle into the cause of the fire, also said the Divisional Railway Manager had referred to a report of a blast.
Asked if he suspected any sabotage, Roy said, "I will not say anything at this stage. Nothing can be excluded and nothing can be said without an investigation. It will be investigated if inflammable substances were in the compartment or it was caused by a short circuit."
