Hyderabad(July, 07) :Â In a fortunate turn of events, hundreds of passengers aboard the Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Superfast Express had a miraculous escape after a fire broke out in one of the reserved compartments. The fire quickly spread to the adjacent coaches in the Bommaipalli-Pagidipalli section, near Bibinagar railway station, approximately 50 km away from the incident. Five sleeper coaches, were completely gutted by the fire. The incident occurred when the train was running about two-and-a-half hours behind schedule.
The fire was first noticed around 11 am, and some passengers promptly pulled the emergency chain to halt the train. This swift action played a crucial role in the passengers’ safety, as most of them were awake and preparing to disembark at Secunderabad. Passengers evacuated the train as soon as it came to a stop, leaving behind some of their luggage, which contained valuable items and certificates.
Passengers immediately alerted the fire department, police, and the railway helpline number 139. Multiple teams, including the Rachakonda police, Bhongir district administration, district disaster response force, railway police, and RPF personnel, swiftly arrived at the scene to initiate rescue operations. Once all passengers were safely evacuated, DGP Anjani Kumar confirmed in a tweet that no fatalities had been reported.
The fire was eventually brought under control after three hours of firefighting efforts. A Clues team and experts from TS FSL (Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory) inspected the site and began examining the affected coaches, which were diverted to Bibinagar railway station. The fire department received the distress call at 11:17 am, and multiple fire tenders from Bhongir and neighboring areas were dispatched to the scene.
A fire accident case has been registered, and investigations are underway by the GRP (Government Railway Police) Nalgonda and railway officials to determine the cause of the incident and ensure necessary safety measures are in place.
