Nine pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh were killed in a devastating fire which broke out in a tourist coach attached to Lucknow-Chennai Central Express (16094) near Madurai railway station on Saturday.
The coach carrying 63 pilgrims from UP was stationed in the Madurai yard for the last two days. The train had departed from Lucknow Junction on August 17 and was scheduled to return from Chennai on August 29.
A government spokesman in Lucknow confirmed that all the passengers in the coach were pilgrims from UP. The tragedy unfolded when the passengers attempted to prepare tea using a gas stove and the cylinder exploded.
The deceased included six persons from Sitapur, Lucknow and Lakhimpur. They were identified as Shatrudaman Singh, Mithilesh Kumari, Shanti Devi, Manorama Agrawal, Himani Bansal and Parmeshwar Dayal. The identities of the other deceased could not be ascertained.
In a post on social media, Shiv Pratap Singh Chauhan from Sitapur claimed that he managed to rescue four individuals from the coach but was unable to save his sister-in-law.
Fire officials reached the site at 5:45 am, nearly half an hour after the fire broke out at 5:15 am. They extinguished the flames by 7:15 am. On Friday, the private coach was added at Nagercoil junction to the Punalur-Madurai Express which reached Madurai railway station at 3:47 am on Sunday. It was detached from the train in Madurai for two days.
The primary cause of the fire was reported to be a cooking gas cylinder that was being carried illegally. According to Indian Railways, while passengers can book coaches through IRCTC, the transportation of gas cylinders is prohibited. However, a passenger managed to bring a cooking gas cylinder on board, leading to the tragic incident.
The Indian Railways has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin gave Rs 3 lakh while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the kin of the deceased.
Initial reports said that the coach was booked by Sitapur-based Bhasin Tours and Travels through IRCTC and Rs 2 lakh had been deposited with the North-Eastern Railway as an advance sum.
According to the Railways, the tourist coach carrying 63 passengers from Lucknow departed from the Lucknow junction, platform number six, at 4:20 pm on August 17. The coach reached Madurai via Vijayawada, Renigunta (Tirupati), Mysuru, Bengaluru, Tirunelveli, and Nagercoil. From Madurai, the passengers were supposed to leave for Chennai on Sunday and return to Lucknow junction on August 29.
Railways authorities in Lucknow said that though a probe had been launched by Southern Railway, the Lucknow division of North Eastern Railway would investigate how the cooking gas cylinder was allowed inside the train.
