A fire broke out on a train in southern India on early Saturday killing at least 23 people, including two children, according to media reports.
Railway officials have informed that at around 3:30 am, the fire engulfed two coaches of the Nanded-Bangalore Express while it travelled through the Andhra Pradesh state. More than 60 passengers are thought to have been on board the train when the fire erupted.
The two blazing coaches were delinked from the
According to police, many of the death were caused due to suffocation by thick black smoke which filled the train as the doors were jammed. Many passengers saved their lives by breaking the windows and jumping out the train.
Rescue operations were slowed down by the thick smog, officials added.
Cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet. The exact number of injured and missing persons has not been confirmed either.
India’s railway network carries 18 million passengers everyday across the country accidents being a common event.
In 2013, a passenger train travelling in Andhra Pradesh caught fire, killing 47 people.