Three air-conditioned coaches of an empty stationary express train were gutted in a fire accident at Visakhapatnam Railway Station on Sunday, police said. There were no casualties in the Korba-Visakhapatnam Express (18517) as all the passengers had deboarded by the time the fire was detected.
The train had arrived on platform number four from Chhattisgarh's Korba in the morning and was to depart for Tirupati later.
A railway official said the Korba Express arrived at 6.30 a.m. and had to go for maintenance to the coaching depot. The train was locked and power was shut down, he said.
Railway Protection Force personnel noticed smoke in the B7 coach around 9.20 a.m. and alerted the authorities and fire services. "By then all passengers had deboarded the train after its arrival," said the official.
According to the railway officials, the fire quickly spread to adjoining coaches. The B7 coach was completely gutted while B6 and M1 coaches were partially damaged. Four fire engines rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Joint Commissioner of Police Fakirappa said there were no casualties in the accident. He said railway officials were conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Barring the damaged coaches, the railway personnel shifted the train to the depot for maintenance.
Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Shankabratha Bagchi visited the railway station. He told media persons that since the coaches had combustible material it took some time for the firefighting personnel to completely douse the fire.
The train was to leave for Tirupati later in the day after maintenance at the depot.
Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anita spoke to the Divisional Railway Manager over the phone and enquired about the fire accident.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Moving Train Catches Fire Near Rohtak, In Haryana, Few Injured Express Train Collides With Goods Train In Tamil Nadu, 12 Coaches Derail Rumours Of Fire Spark Panic On Train, 3 Crushed To Death India A "Cyber Adversary", Says Trudeau Government, New Delhi Shreds Claim 'Will Return With...': Swati Maliwal Pours Dirty Water Outside Atishi's Home Woman Strips At Iran University To Protest Strict Dress Code: Reports The Impact Of The World's Richest Man On US Democracy GATE 2025: Application Correction Deadline Extended, Details Here Fire Breaks Out At Factory In Delhi's Alipur, 34 Fire Tenders Rushed Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.