Fire on Mumbai-Dehradun Express: Closed windows led to suffocation

Passengers in the MumbaiDehradun Express 19019 would never have thought that they would have to pay with their lives for downing had downed their windows In the wee hours of yesterday when the train caught fire all windows had been shut to keep out the chill So smoke engulfed the coaches as there was no opening to let it outClosed windows in the coaches led to the smoke spreading fast inside the train PicNimesh DaveFlaming coldThis latenight express train made its last halt at Dahanu Road now the last extended suburban station for locals at 216 am Three minutes later the train started moving towards Gholwad station which is the last railway station before the train enters Gujarat Just oneandhalf km before Gholwad and within five minutes of the trainrsquos departure time from Dahanu Road smoke started emittingThe site where the train caught fire is eight km from Dahanu Road It was gateman Jawahar Singh who was standing on levelcrossing number 60 who first saw the smoke billowing out of the train Sources said he immediately informed stationmaster Sriram Prasad at Gholwad station about this In the next two minutes he called again to inform that the coaches had caught fire even as the train was zipping aheadAccording to railway officials ldquoThe train might have been travelling at a speed of 100 kmph or so This could have fanned the firerdquo Although railway officials didnrsquot confirm the source of the fire it is said that coach S3 seemed to be the one where the fire started ldquoAs per our observations S3 was most affected while the northend of S4 was least affected by the fire It will be difficult to tell the prima facie cause but the Commission of Railway Safety will be inquiring into the incidentrdquo said Hemant Kumar general manager Western Railway who was present at the siteSources described to MiD DAY that beginning from S3 the flames spread partly to S4 and towards coaches S1 and S2 at the rear Passengers began running helterskelter Meanwhile a few of them had pulled the emergency chain to alert the loco pilot Rajendra Lakde assistant loco pilot Raviranjan Roy and guard Manohar PatangeOfficials however reported that the coaches werenrsquot crowded in all there were 84 people in the four coaches S4 S3 S2 and S1 Sadly five passengers died due to suffocation and four were charred to deathBy now the stationmaster had contacted the fire brigade local police station and even local residentsThese people including railway officials ran with buckets of water while the stationmasterrsquos office ran with six fire extinguishers However the fire brigade that came around 330 am was initially unsuccessful in going to the spot Meanwhile the fire engines coming from Dahanu and nearby areas were struggling to find a proper entrance to approach the site where the train was burning The locals then guided them to a kuchha road amidst dense shrubs and bushesOfficials added that by 415 am or so they finally managed to douse the flames from all three coaches but the train was still burning hot Around the same time railway officials were in the process of separating the affected coaches from the safe ones Finally the fire cooled off by 510 am By then the passengers had taken out five people who had apparently died from suffocation while the four charred bodies were removed after the train cooled down Gradually the engine along with the first six coaches was detached and sent towards Valsad at 810 am where four more coaches were addedTwo coaches were added at Surat while the existing two coaches separated from the rear end were also attached All other passengers were accommodated in these coaches In all 45 passengers discontinued their journey 8 passengers are missing and 9 passengers diedTheories behind fireOfficials believe that it is quite likely that there could be something inflammable inside the coach or that someone might have been smoking a cigarette or beedi Locals claimed that some passengers were reportedly smoking a cigarette Others said there could be inflammable items like oil or fuel which could have led to the fire Officials ruled out a short circuit