A fire that started in one of the reserved compartments of the Howrah-Hyderabad Falaknuma Superfast Express and spread to the nearby bogies on Friday near the Bibinagar railway station, about 50 kilometers from here, allowed hundreds of passengers to miraculously escape.
S4, S5, and S6 were among five sleeper coaches that were completely destroyed by the fire. It took the train around two and a half hours to arrive.
Around 11 a.m., some passengers promptly pulled the alarm cord to stop the train after noticing the fire. According to sources, this was one of the elements that saved passengers because nearly everyone was awake and prepared to disembark at Secunderabad.
While passengers hurried off the train as soon as it stopped, many of them left their luggage behind, some of which had jewels and others which included documents. The accident occurs a few days after the one that killed 288 lives at the Bahanaga Bazaar station in Odisha.
A number of teams, including members of the Rachakonda police, Bhongir district administration, district disaster response force, railway police, and RPF, rushed to the scene and began rescue operations after passengers in the train called the fire department, the police, and the railway hotline 139.
“All passengers are safely evacuated and shifted in buses after a fire broke out in the Falaknuma Express near Bhongir rural PS limits,” DGP Anjani Kumar tweeted after the operation was finished. The Police Department, Fire Department, and Railways are cooperating. No fatalities have been recorded as of yet.
According to DCP Bhongir M. Rajesh Chandra, the fire was put out in three hours. A Clues team and specialists from TS FSL were also present. They have begun inspecting the coaches after stopping at the Bibinagar railway station for inspection.
Fire department representatives claim that they received an SOS at 11:17 am, and that a fire tender from Bhongir arrived first. Tenders from Aleru, Yadagirigutta, Cherlapally, Ramannapet, and Choutuppal were also called into action after determining the severity of the fire.
The 11 unaffected compartments were initially disconnected out of caution. After the overhead electricity was turned off in 30 minutes, the firefighting process started. The fire was put out with about 54,000 liters of water, according to the authorities.
SI K. Salakamma of GRP Nalgonda lodged a fire accident case and began an inquiry after receiving a complaint from the station manager of Nalgonda. A parallel investigation has also been opened by railway officials.
