Chennai: On Saturday, a fire broke out in a passenger train's coach at the Madurai railway station in Tamil Nadu, killing at least 9 people and injuring 20 more.
According to IANS cites from railway authorities, the incident occurred early Saturday morning on the Lucknow-Rameswaram Express.
The six victims were from Uttar Pradesh and had been on a pilgrimage to Rameswaram, according to the sources.
There were a total of 55 people in the damaged coach, which was attached at Nagercoil on Friday.
The blast of a gas cylinder, which was illegally smuggled inside the coach for cooking purposes, caused the fire, the sources told IANS.
Meanwhile, four of the 20 injured are reportedly in critical condition.
The mishap occurred when thetrain was stationed at a yard, 1 km out of the Madurai railway station and passengers were about to leave for the Meenakshi temple for darshan.
The local fire department was dispatched to the scene, where they quickly extinguished the blaze.
Many people had already alighted when the train had reached the Madurai railway station.
The injured have been transported to local hospitals, according to Madurai District Collector Sangeetha, who spoke to the media about the situation.
She also said that the cause of the fire will be further probed.—Inputs from Agencies
