Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday announced that the families of nine passengers who died in the recent train fire in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai Railway Station will receive an ex-gratia payment of Rs 3 lakhs each.
The Indian Railways have also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those deceased.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said that he has also ensured the best treatment for the injured undergoing treatment at the Government Rajaji government hospital in Madurai, and deputed Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes and Registration minister P. Moorthy to reach Madurai and to attend to the necessities of the families of the deceased and the injured.
A private party coach attached to a passenger train carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh caught fire on Saturday morning in which nine people lost their lives and twenty others were injured.
Southern Railway authorities said that a gas cylinder, which was illegally smuggled inside the coach for cooking purposes, led to the blaze.
The injured people are admitted to Government Rajaji Memorial Hospital of which the condition of four is stated to be serious.
With inputs from IANS