08 January,2014 02:15 PM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon and Shahank Rao
The fire is believed to have erupted in the vestibule between S-2 and S-3 coaches and quickly spread to the adjoining S-4 bogey, catching the sleeping passengers unawares at around 2.30 a.m, early Wednesday
At least nine passengers, including a woman, were charred to death when a fire engulfed the speeding Mumbai-Dehradun Express near Dahanu town in Maharashtra's Thane district early Wednesday, officials said.
The incident happend soon after the train left Dahanu station. Four of a family from Gujarat including a woman and three men were also injured, said the railway police. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, the fire has been put out and the train has made its forward journey," Chairman, Railway Board, Arunendra Kumar said.
Pics /Nimesh Dave
According to the railway police, the injured have been taken to Dahanu primary health center and two out of five bodies identified, Deepikaben Shah, a Ghatkopar resident is amongst the dead, a man named Upadhyay is the second dead identifed so far, said the railway police.
Fire engines took time to reach the spot, but by the time they could bring the fire under control, 3 boggies had burnt completely. The railway board has set up a high level probe and senior railway officials are reaching the spot.
Helpline Numbers
Western Railway: 022 23011853 and 022 23007388
The other Helplines
241903 - Valsad
022 67649632 - Dahanu Road
022 26435756- Bandra Terminus
0261 2423992- Surat
011 23342954 & 1072 - New Delhi
0135 2624002, 2624003 - Dehradun
Five of the deceased have been identified as
1. Ms Deepika Shah , age 65 yrs
2. Sh. Dev Shankar Upadhyay, age 48 yrs
3. Sh.Surendra Shah, age 68 yrs
4. Sh. Nasirkhan Ahmedkhan Pathan, age 50 yrs
5. Shri Feroz Khan, age 38 yrs.
(source: Western Railway)
Railways announce ex-gratia
Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge today expressed grief over the death of passengers in the fire mishap on board the Mumbai-Dehradun Express and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of those killed.
"The Railway Minister has expressed deep grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for those who died in this unfortunate incident and Rs one lakh to those seriously injured," Arunendra Kumar said. A sum of Rs 50,000 will be given to those who received minor injuries. The commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the fire incident, he said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
