One dead as fire guts coaches of Tata-Ernakulam Express in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: A 70-year-old passenger lost his life after a massive fire broke out on the 18189 Tata–Ernakulam Express in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam district in the early hours of Monday, December 29. The incident, which occurred shortly after the train passed through Duvvada, resulted in two air-conditioned coaches and the pantry car being reduced to ashes.

The deceased has been identified as Chandrashekhar Sundar, a resident of Vijayawada. His body was found charred in the B1 coach. According to officials, the fire erupted around 1:30 am near Narsingaballi. Reports indicate that brake jamming in the B1 coach generated sparks, which likely triggered the blaze. The fire quickly engulfed the B1 coach, the M2 coach, and the pantry car.

Loco pilots noticed smoke near Elamanchili and immediately halted the train. However, the flames had already spread before fire services could reach the location. Panic ensued as passengers rushed out of the smoke-filled compartments onto the tracks. Approximately 2,000 passengers were left stranded at the station for hours amidst freezing winter conditions.

Firefighting units from Anakapalli, Elamanchili, and Nakkapalli were deployed to the scene and battled for several hours to extinguish the fire. Senior railway officials and police arrived to assess the situation, noting that all belongings in the affected coaches were destroyed. A senior police official stated that forensic teams have been deployed to ascertain the exact cause of the fire. At the time of the incident, there were reportedly 82 passengers in one affected coach and 76 in the other.

Train operations on the Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada route were severely disrupted, with several trains halted at Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, and Tuni stations. By 3:30 am, railway authorities detached the burnt coaches and accommodated the affected passengers in the remaining compartments to move the train forward. Passengers from the gutted coaches were subsequently transported to Samarlakota station in three RTC buses, where two replacement AC coaches were attached to allow the train to continue its journey toward Ernakulam.