Tamil Nadu Express blaze mystery deepens

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Tamil Nadu Express blaze mystery deepens

Clean Media Correspondent

NELLORE, 01 Aug (CMC): A day after the blaze that killed 28 passengers in the ill-fated S-11 coach of Tamil Nadu Express near here, mystery over the cause of fire deepened with the investigators grappling to gather evidence from the gutted bogie. As the police and forensic expert teams on Tuesday wondered how the blaze turned to cinder the entire coach within a span of 20-30 minutes, a close look at the death pattern of the passengers presented a puzzle.

While passenger in berth number 1 Chitra of Delhi escaped unhurt, D Shalini of Kapra, Hyderabad, occupying berth no 2 lost her life. Passengers who occupied berths from 3 to 7 were safe, while occupant of berth no 8 Anil of Delhi was untraceable even 48 hours after the tragedy. Again, passengers of berth nos 9-13 escaped from the fire, P Sunitha of Vijayawada on berth no 14 is missing and presumed dead.

Some of the survivors told TOI that the fire did not break out from one end, as passengers from both the corners and middle of the coach were also burnt alive. "In addition to the jammed doors, the fire seemed to have spread to all corners almost simultaneously leaving little or no scope for the passengers to escape," an investigating official told TOI.

A case in point: Initial reports said the fire had broken out from the toilet located near berth no 72. While the passengers who occupied berths 65 to 71 were safe, Uttam Kumar of Vijayawada (berth no 72) died. "Majority of the victims were those who occupied the middle portion of the coach," a forensic expert said.

Passengers of berth nos 48-58 were all choked to death while passengers of berth nos 8, 17, 29, 34, 38, 42, 45 and 46 had perished in the fire. More than 20 bodies were found at the exit. "Rescue team members could not muster courage to bring out the bodies as the bogie had turned into an ash bin," a police official pointed out.

Experts believe that there must have been some inflammable substance (either gas or liquid) that caught fire and spread within no time. While the train travelled for just five minutes from the Nellore station, it was brought to a halt in next the 10 minutes after the gateman, Ch Srinivasulu, noticed the fire in S-11 coach. "The passengers did not have enough time to get down from the coach as thick smoke and flames engulfed it by then. In the next 10-15 minutes, the entire coach was gutted," the official said.

With station master Shajahan claiming that no fire or smoke was found when the train was passing the station around 4.15 am, experts reason that the fire might have started only after the train had left the station. The train was brought to a halt within 5-6 km from the station near Vijayamahal level crossing which was just five minutes away and which is where the gateman first noticed the fire.