20230708 Jumped out of leaping flames, back from brink: Passengers
India Jul 08 2023 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Jumped out of leaping flames, back from brink: Passengers
Updated: 2023-07-08
HYDERABAD: It all happened in the blink of an eye. But swift action ensured that all passengers from the fire-hit bogies of Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express were safely evacuated and there were no injuries or casualties. The incident though left the passengers shaken.
“As soon as we noticed the smoke we pulled the chain. The onboard staff helped us in getting out of the train. The coaches went up in flames in front of our eyes,” said Ramarao, one of the passengers.
Most passengers were distressed as their belongings were gutted too. They had to leave most of their luggage behind as there wasn’t much time to evacuate since the fire was spreading across the bogies from S2 to S6.
“I had dozed off when suddenly I heard people shouting. The train soon stopped and we jumped off the coach in a hurry. All this happened within a minute,” said Chandan Mohanty, a native of Balasore, who was travelling in S5 coach.
After all the passengers were evacuated, the focus turned to ensuring they reached their destinations. The relief operations were supervised by South Central Railway (SCR) general manager Arun Kumar Jain along with a team of officials. An accident relief train and medical relief train were also rushed to the spot.
Most of the stranded passengers from the affected coaches were accommodated in other bogies of Falaknuma Express and rest of them were brought on bus to Secunderabad railway station. A help desk was also set up at Secunderabad station to provide information about the incident and train operations.
Further, to provide relief to passengers of two trains cancelled due to the disruption in the section, catering arrangements were made and buses were provided to transport them. The buses were arranged for passengers to go to both Secunderabad as well as Guntur.
Once the section was cleared of the affected coaches, it was restored for train movement in all aspects at 5.55 pm. Train No. 17229 (empty rake) was the first train to move in the section.
Web Source: The Times of India