Four coaches of Korba Express catch fire in Vishakhapatnam; none hurt

Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 4 (ANI): A fire broke out on the Korba-Visakhapatnam Express (18517) train at Visakhapatnam railway station on Sunday morning, damaging four empty coaches, officials said.

The fire, which occurred around 10 am, was quickly extinguished, and there were no casualties or injuries reported.

Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police Shankar Brata Bagchi stated that the train, which had arrived at the station at 6.30 am, was empty when the incident occurred.

Bagchi said, “At 6:30 am, the Tirumala Express arrived at the Visakhapatnam railway station. The fire broke out around 10 am. Fortunately, the coaches were empty, so there were no casualties. Local fire services responded immediately.”

An FIR will be filed, and forensic experts will investigate the cause of the fire, which could be due to a short circuit or another reason.

“We are going to lodge a complaint and call in forensic experts to determine the cause. Only after analyzing forensic evidence will we be able to ascertain the cause of the fire. Currently, there are no suspects,” Bagchi added.

Waltair Division RM Saurabh Prasad noted that the empty rake was scheduled for maintenance at the coaching depot.

“At 9:20 a.m., RPF staff noticed smoke from the coach and alerted the fire brigade. The fire was extinguished by 11:10 a.m. The two adjacent coaches were evacuated as per protocol, and the rest were moved to the coaching depot,” Prasad said.

Speaking to ANI, Prasad said, “This empty rake had to go to the coaching depot for maintenance. It was tabled on the platform here and at 9:20 am, the RPF staff, who had been patrolling the platforms, had noticed a bit of smoke. He immediately alerted the fire brigade and the staff available at the station. They also came in as reinforcements to douse the fire. The fire was doused at 11:10 am. Leaving aside the two adjacent coaches as per protocol, the rest of the rake were immediately evacuated to the coaching depot.”

He also mentioned that after receiving clearance from the AP fire department, the adjacent coaches were evacuated and taken to the coaching depot for further inspection.

“We will conduct a detailed investigation into what led to the fire which started from B7 coach,” he added.