Tamil Nadu: 9 killed, many injured as massive fire erupts in stationary coach; ex-gratia announced

At least nine persons died after a fire that broke out inside a stationary train compartment in Madurai railway station in the wee hour of Saturday. The Southern Railway said that an "illegal gas cylinder" caused the fire.

Southern Railway said that an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh has been announced to the family of deceased, as reported by PTI. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and announced an ex-gratia of ₹3 lakh.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Deeply saddened by the tragic incident near Madurai Railway junction where nine precious lives were lost in a train fire accident. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the deceased. To support the affected families, an ex-gratia of 3 lakh INR will be provided. I have instructed Hon'ble Ministers @ptrmadurai @pmoorthy21 and officials to ensure that the injured receive the highest quality treatment. All measures will be taken to transport the mortal remains of the deceased to their hometowns.”

Madurai District Collector MS Sangeetha earlier told reporters that 55 people have been rescued. “Today early morning at 5:30 am there was a fire accident in the coach which was halted here at Madurai railway station...They were pilgrims & were travelling from Uttar Pradesh. This morning when they tried to make coffee & tried to lit the gas stove, there was a cylinder blast. 55 people have been rescued & as of now, we have retrieved nine bodies...Rescue operation is underway…,” she told reporters.

Giving further update, Tamil Nadu Minister P Moorthy said, “We have inspected the accident site. Those injured in the accident are being treated at the Government Hospital.”

As per the Southern Railway release, the fire broke out at 5.15 am on Saturday and the Fire service personnel who arrived at the spot half an hour later put down the blaze by 7.15 am.

The Southern Railway has also issued helpline numbers: 9360552608, 8015681915 to share the information related to the fire incident and causalities.

In a statement issued by the Railways, it said, "This is a private party coach that was attached at Nagercoil Junction yesterday (Aug 25) by train no. 16730 (Punalur-Madurai Exp). Party coach was detached and kept at Madurai Stabling line. The passengers in the private party coach have illegally smuggled gas cylinder and this has caused the fire. Many passengers had got out of the coach on noticing fire. Some passengers had got down at platform itself," the release said.

"The party coach had started their journey from Lucknow on 17th August. They are scheduled to return to Chennai tomorrow by Tino. 16824 Kollam Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri express. And return to Lucknow from there. Any individual can book party coach using IRCTC portal. They are not allowed to carry any inflammable material like gas cylinder. The coach is to used only for transportation purpose, the statement read.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday condoled the deaths due to a blaze in a stationary train in Tamil Nadu's Madurai and asked the Railways to be more vigilant regarding safety. She wrote, “Another devastating incident in railways, this time at Madurai (Tamil Nadu) today , involving a massive fire in a train, and leading to at least 9 shocking and tragic deaths and minimally 20 critical injury cases ! While I convey my condolences to the families of the deceased & pray for the injured, expect that inquiries would fix responsibilities soon. May I also urge the railway authorities to be more vigilant and less callous about safety and human lives?”

(With inputs from agencies)