20151112 India Three trains catch fire at Puri station
India Nov 12 2015 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Three trains catch fire at Puri station
Updated: 2015-11-13-09:09
Panic gripped Puri railway station as a massive fire engulfed three empty trains parked on different platforms on Thursday. No injury or death was reported, government railway police sources said.
Two sleeper coaches of Tirupati Express, two sleeper coaches of Nandankanan Express and a general compartment of Puri-Howrah Express were gutted between 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm. “The cause of the fire mishap is being probed by senior officers of the East Coast Railways. A high-level inquiry will be conducted into it,” said East Coast Railway’s chief public relations officer Jyoti Prakash Mishra.
Railway sources said fire was first reported from Nandankanan Express (Puri-New Delhi) parked on platform no. 4. “Around 4.30 pm, fire broke out in S-11 and S-12 coach of Nandankanan Express. As the fire-fighters were busy dousing the flames, Tirupati Express, parked on platform no. 2 caught fire around 5.10 pm. Two coaches (S-3 and S-4) were gutted. We were shocked to receive information about another fire in the Puri-Howrah Express on platform no. 6 around 6.10 pm,” said a railway police officer.
Railway police suspects it to be an act of sabotage. “Initially, we thought that Nandankanan Express caught fire due to electric short circuit. As fire also engulfed two more trains, we strongly suspect it was mischief by someone,” said a senior railway police officer.
Movement of several trains was affected due to the inferno. Several trains were stranded midway as the railways, as part of safety measure, temporarily stopped movement of trains to and from Puri for a few hours. Some trains left and arrived at the Puri station much after the scheduled time.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained two men, suspecting their involvement in the massive fire. The detainees were rag-pickers, who were spotted by the RPF personnel near the burning trains.
At least 40 fire brigade personnel and 10 fire tender vehicles took over three hours to contain the fire. Railway officials had a trying time detaching the burning compartments.
Passenger blamed the railway police and technical staff for the tragedy. “The accident exposed poor checking of compartments by the railway police,” said Sasanka Mishra, a passenger, who was supposed to board Puri-Howrah Express at 8 pm.
Web Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Three-trains-catch-fire-at-Puri-station/articleshow/49764431.cms