70-year-old charred to death in Tatanagar-Ernakulam Express fire in Andhra

A 70-year-old man was charred to death when a fire erupted in two air-conditioned bogies of Tatanagar–Ernakulam Express at Duvvada in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district in the wee hours of Monday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Chandrasekhar Sundar. A resident of Vijayawada, he was reportedly trapped in the B1 AC coach and died due of burns.

According to early reports, the train, which was travelling from Tatanagar to Ernakulam via Visakhapatnam district, caught fire around 1.30 am after crossing Duvvada. Flames reportedly broke out in the B1 and M2 AC coaches, located adjacent to the pantry car.

Two AC coaches gutted

A railway police official said the incident was first noticed by the loco pilots near a railway point close to Yelamanchili, 66 km from Vishakapattam, following which the train was immediately halted at the station. But, before fire services could arrive, the blaze spread rapidly, completely engulfing and gutting the two AC coaches.

As thick smoke filled the coaches, passengers panicked and rushed out onto the platforms, many unsure of what was happening. Eyewitnesses said visibility was poor due to dense smoke, adding to the confusion and fear.

Senior railway officials arrived at the station to assess the situation firsthand. As a precaution, ambulances were deployed on-site. On the chilly night, hundreds of passengers endured long hours of waiting at the station.

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Following the accident, rail traffic along the Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada route was temporarily halted, causing extensive delays across the network.

Passengers from the two damaged coaches were transported to Samarlakota in three APSRTC buses. At Samarlakota, two replacement AC coaches were attached to the train, enabling the Tata–Ernakulam Express to continue its scheduled journey towards Ernakulam.

News agency PTI quoted an unnamed official as saying they received information about the fire at 12.45 am on Monday (December 29).

The official told reporters that there were 82 passengers in one of the affected coaches and 76 in another when the train caught fire. “Unfortunately, a dead body was found from the B1 coach,” the official added.

Two forensic teams are working to ascertain the cause of the fire, the police official said.

(With agency inputs)