Fire breaks out in Falaknuma Express, no casualties

The fire which break out in one of the reserved compartments of the Hyderabad-bound train, quickly spread to the adjoining coaches, in the Bommaipalli-Pagidipalli section, near the Bibinagar railway station, Deccan Chronicle reported. (Image source: Deccan Chronicle)

Passengers of Falaknuma Express coming from Howrah to Secunderabad had a narrow escape on July 6 when fire gutted 3 of its reserved compartments, as per a Deccan Chronicle report. According to South Central Railway officials, passengers were safely de-boarded on time and no casualties have been reported so far.

The fire, which broke out in one of the reserved bogies of the Hyderabad-bound train, quickly spread to the adjoining coaches, in the Bommaipalli-Pagidipalli section, near the Bibinagar railway station, the daily said. It reportedly gutted 3 reserved sleeper coaches—S3, S4 and S5.

The incident occurred at about 11 am just before the train was about to reach the Secunderabad railway station and some travellers quickly pulled the alarm chain to stop the train.

Passengers alerted the railway helpline 139, police and fire departments, following which several rescue teams, including Rachakonda police, Bhongir district administration, district disaster reponse force, railway police and RPF personnel, quickly begun rescue operations, the report further mentioned.

Fire department officials said they received an SOS at 11:17 am, following which a fire tender from Bhongir rushed to the spot first. Later, fire tenders from Aleru, Yadagirigutta, Cherlapally, Ramannapet, Choutuppal also joined rescue operations.

After successfully evacuating all passengers safely, DGP Anjani Kumar tweeted, "All passengers are safely evacuated and shifted in buses after a fire broke out in the Falaknuma Express near Bhongir rural PS limits. Police, Fire Dept, and Railways are working in coordination. So far, no fatalities have been reported."

The affected coaches have been diverted to the Bibinagar railway station for further examination. SI K. Salakamma of GRP Nalgonda has registered a fire accident case and started investigation, following a complaint lodged by the Nalgonda station manager. Railway officials too have begun a parallel probe.