Officials in Tamil Nadu blame the Madurai train fire mishap’s nine fatalities on a cylinder that was brought aboard “illegally”

In the early hours of Saturday, a fire broke out inside a halted train compartment at the railway station here, killing at least nine pilgrims traveling to Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, according to the Southern Railway.

In addition, it claimed that a gas cylinder “illegally” brought into the bus caused the fire.

The majority of them were from Lucknow and the surrounding regions when they set off on their journey last week in a private party bus.

Six of the dead have been identified out of the nine. Each group included three men and women.

One of the survivors said that several people could only flee for safety when a locked door was forced open, perhaps averting a worse disaster.

The toll was originally listed by the Southern Railway as 10, but it was subsequently reduced to nine. There were around 20 patients receiving care at this location.

The governor of Tamil Nadu, RN Ravi, expressed his condolences for the victims’ passings and prayed for the wounded people’s quick recovery.

Along with their West Bengal colleague Mamata Banerjee, the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, MK Stalin and Yogi Adityanath, expressed sorrow over the occurrence and offered their condolences. Ex-gratia payments to the relatives of the deceased were declared by Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and the Railways.

According to a Southern Railway announcement, the fire started at 5.15 am on Saturday and was extinguished by 7.15 am by the time firefighters got on the scene.

“This is a private party coach that was attached to train no. 16730 (Punalur-Madurai Exp) at Nagercoil Junction yesterday, August 25. The party carriage was taken off the train and detained at the Madurai Stabling Line. The private party coach’s occupants have…The fire was started by a smuggled gas cylinder, according to the press statement.

According to the statement, the party coach left Lucknow on August 17 and was due to arrive back in Chennai on Sunday before continuing on to the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Some party members aboard the private party bus utilized an illegally imported cooking gas cylinder unofficially to make tea and snacks while the coach was stabled or stopped, which started a fire. When the carriage caught fire, the majority of the passengers were able to exit. Before the coach’s separation, several people had already disembarked at the platform, it was said.

According to the report, the private party had unlawfully transported a gas cylinder, a stove, and other combustible items, “which caused the freak fire accident.”

An LPG cylinder, a bag of potatoes, utensils, and wooden logs were among the things discovered at the scene, providing clear evidence of efforts to prepare meals.

A victim receiving treatment at a government hospital in this city, Alka Prajapati, said that shouts of “fire, fire” awakened people who were asleep.

“We attempted to flee while still in bed after hearing the screaming. Since the door was locked, we were unable to leave right away. We were able to exit when the lock was broken. She told PTI in the hospital, “There was dense smoke, and I couldn’t breathe well, so I simply took God’s name.

15-20 minutes after all attempts to put out the flames were made, railroad personnel arrived. “But it (the coach) was blazing,” she recalled, still reeling from the horror.

When interviewed by the media, several survivors said that they were traveling to Rameswaram.

A kid described the stressful minutes before running away to safety while adults were spotted sobbing at the site, probably over the death of a loved one.

Auto-driver Mannan Prakash, a local eyewitness, said that after hearing a “sound,” people in the area raced to the accident site right away but were unable to approach close because of the flames.

“Some were trapped inside. Due to the fact that it was a sleeper coach, they were unable to leave swiftly.

In a statement, Chief Minister Stalin stated the victims were traveling to Rameswaram for a pilgrimage and expressed his sorrow over the tragic tragedy.

He claimed in a statement that he had ordered Madurai district collector MS Sangeetha to go over right away. He said that plans were being made for the remains to be transported to their homes.

The Chief Minister appointed his cabinet colleague P Moorthy to oversee the relief work and provided a monetary assistance of Rs 3 lakh every victim’s family.

Adithyanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, made a Rs. 2 lakh ex-gratia payment to the relatives of the victims.

“The tragic train disaster that claimed lives in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is heartbreaking and exceedingly sad. My sympathies are with the families who have lost loved ones, he remarked on X.

The Uttar Pradesh administration said in a statement that the chief minister talked with the railway minister and learned more about the event.

Adityanath said that officials have been given directives to make sure the wounded are treated properly. For prompt support, a toll-free hotline 1070 has also been established, according to him. Additionally listed as hotline numbers by the Uttar Pradesh government are 9454441081 and 9454441075.

Additionally, Southern Railway released the hotline numbers 9360552608, and 8015681915, for information on the fire event and casualties. It offered monetary assistance of Rs. 10 lakh for victims’ families.

Using the IRCTC website, anybody may make a party coach reservation. They are not permitted to transport any combustible items, such as gas cylinders. The statement said that the vehicle was only to be used for transportation and that top authorities were their route to the scene.