Railways order probe into Gulbarga train fire

Railways have ordered an inquiry into the Gulbarga train fire incident today which claimed two lives and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of the dead.

Two passengers were charred to death and about nine suffered severe burns when a general coach of Solapur-bound Falaknuma passenger train from Hyderabad caught fire during its halt at Gulbarga station. An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire in the general coach of the Solapur passenger train. The inquiry will be conducted by Commissioner Railway Safety Chetan Baxi and submit the report at the earliest, Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said. Railways have also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of the dead, Rs 75,000 to the seriously injured and Rs 5,000 for those with minor injuries. The service of fire brigade was immediately pressed to douse the fire which was noticed at around 1 PM in the coach. Senior officials have already rushed to the spot and fire has been extinguished completely by 2.15 PM, he said. Over 15 passengers were present in the coach of the passenger train when it arrived at Gulbarga. Many of them jumped to safety after seeing the fire.

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- PTI