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Padmavati Express bogies catch fire; passengers safe

Effort in vain: Fire-fighting personnel trying to put off fire near Ulavapadu on Wednesday.

ONGOLE: Two bogies of Tirupati-bound Padmavati Express were reduced to ashes after a fire broke out in them between Ulavapadu and Tettu stations around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. A major tragedy was averted by an alert pointman, who helped in bringing the train to a halt.

The passengers of the ill-fated bogies -- third air-conditioned bogie and general bogie -- however saved their lives by jumping out minutes before the fire assumed alarming proportions.

The pointman, who noticed the commotion in the bogies on the outskirts of Ulavapadu, telephoned the station master, who in turn alerted the guard over cell phone.

Initial reports suggested that the fire broke out due to short circuit in the electrical panel of the air-conditioned bogie. It all started when passengers noticed smoke in the air-conditioned bogie and raised alarm even as the train was running at 80 km per hour between Singarayakonda and Ulavapadu stations. They pulled the chain to stop the train but found to their dismay that the chain did not work. The fire extinguishers too failed to work. Screaming for their lives, they banged on the wooden plank to alert passengers in the general bogie behind them.

Passengers of the general bogie too pulled the chain but in vain. They too began screaming.

The pointman, alerted by the screams of the passengers, immediately telephoned the station master who alerted the guard over cell phone.

The guard applied emergency brake and brought the train to a halt. The panicky passengers, who felt helpless for 10-15 minutes, jumped out into the darkness to save their lives. They were mute witness to the fire reducing both the bogies to ashes in just two hours.

The train driver and guard separated the affected bogies and prevented the fire from spreading to other bogies. The train resumed its journey later.

District Collector K. Devanand, Superintendent of Police V. Navinchand supervised relief operations. Divisional Railway Manager Jowhari, who reached the place at 7 a.m., faced the wrath of the passengers who faulted him for poor safety norms in the air-conditioned bogies.

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