Seven killed in Doon Express fire: Accident or sabotage?

Kolkata/New Delhi: The horrific fire in the two coaches of the Doon Express early on Tuesday morning killed seven people. As the railways investigate the cause of the fire, a survivor, a young Australian woman told NDTV that she saw a man pouring petrol near the train line.

The Doon Express was going from Howrah to Dehradun caught burst into flames just before daybreak in the Giridih district of Jharkhand. The two AC-coaches which caught fire were detached and perhaps a major tragedy was averted. But seven people were still killed, including two little children and an Australian woman travelling to Gaya for research. There were more than 100 passengers in these two coaches. At least 30 were injured including three other Australian tourists.

"When people started screaming, we all came. We tried to enter the train but it was not possible. We saw a person burning," said an eye-witness.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but the Railway Minister does not rule out miscreants.

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However, passengers from one of the burnt coaches believe a defective heater started it. They say that despite complaints, no action was taken.

All leads are being investigated but the Railways Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, remained incommunicado today as the Opposition demanded answers from the government for yet another train accident.

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"Railway safety is in a mess," said Sitaram Yechury.

"The rail mishap is sad. There are so many taking place. So many people have died. It should be investigated so that such accidents don't occur again," said former Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

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The eighth train tragedy this year has once again raised questions about Railway safety. During Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure between 2004 and 2009 in the UPA-1 government, there were five major accidents, in which over 20 people died. And in UPA-2 after the Trinamool Congress took charge of Railways, there have been at least 14 major rail accidents.

Most accidents were blamed on poor maintenance or human error, but no conclusive action has been taken so far.In her second Rail Budget this year, Mamata Banerjee had announced that safety is her first priority and went on to say that the number of train accidents has gone down despite the increase in traffic.

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But despite a RS 170 billion special fund, safety remains the biggest concern.