South Central Railway (SC Railway) officials reported that on Friday afternoon, seven of the train’s bogies caught fire near Bhongir town in Telangana’s Yadadri-Bhongir district.
Passengers aboard the Falaknuma Express, which runs between Howrah and Secunderabad, had a tight escape. Cause of the fire is still unknown.
The Falaknuma Express (Train No. 12703) caught fire at around 11.30 a.m. between Bommaipally and Pagidipally, according to SC Railways’ chief public relations officer, Ch Rakesh. The fire then spread to several other reserved bogies, including S4, S5, and S6.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Secunderabad at 9.15 am on Friday after leaving Howrah at 7.15 am on Thursday. The tragedy happened about 35 kilometers from the destination.
- Passengers deboard the Falaknuma Express train after it caught fire, in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana on Friday. (PTI)
While passengers hurried off the train as soon as it stopped, many of them left their luggage behind, some of which had jewels and others which included documents. The accident occurred a few days after the one that killed 288 lives at the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha.
A number of teams, including members of the Rachakonda police, Bhongir district administration, district disaster response force, railway police, and RPF, rushed to the scene and began rescue operations after passengers in the train called the fire department, the police, and the railway helpline 139.
Following the evacuation, DGP Anjani Kumar said, “All passengers are safely evacuated and moved in buses after a fire broke out in the Falaknuma Express near Bhongir rural PS boundaries. Work is being coordinated by the police, fire department, and railroads. There haven’t been any fatalities reported as of yet.”
Fire department officials claim that they received an SOS at 11:17 am and that a fire tender from Bhongir arrived first. Tenders from Aleru, Yadagirigutta, Cherlapally, Ramannapet, and Choutuppal were also called into action after determining the severity of the fire.
- Passengers and locals watch in horror as bogies of Falaknuma Superfast Express burn. No loss of life reported.
The 11 unaffected compartments were initially disconnected out of caution. After the overhead electricity was turned off in 30 minutes, the firefighting process started.
The fire was put out with about 54,000 liters of water, according to the authorities.
SI K. Salakamma of GRP Nalgonda lodged a fire accident case and began an inquiry after receiving a complaint from the station manager of Nalgonda. A parallel investigation has also been opened by railway officials.
The incident happened a month after the most devastating railway accident in thirty years, a triple train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district, which killed 293 people.
