Monday, 30 July 2012

India train fire kills 25 in Andhra Pradesh

At least 25 people have been killed in a fire on a passenger train travelling in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials say.

One coach of the Tamil Nadu Express travelling to Chennai from Delhi caught fire early on Monday. The cause of the fire is still not clear.

Officials said the death toll could rise further as there were 72 passengers in the affected coach.

The incident happened as the train was passing through Nellore station.

Nellore is located 500km (310 miles) south of Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

B Sridhar, head of the Nellore district administration, told the BBC that 22 passengers travelling in the coach had been injured and taken to local hospitals.

He said an electrical short circuit could have led to the fire, and that most of the passengers were asleep when the incident happened at 04:20 local time.

The affected coach was completely gutted and rescue teams had to break in using special equipment.

Accidents are common on the state-owned Indian railways, an immense network connecting every corner of the country.

It operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries some 18 million passengers every day.

- BBC

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