5 who boarded express at Delhi missing

Eighteen of the passengers on the ill-fated coach of the Tamil Nadu Express that caught fire early on Monday had boarded the train at Delhi.

Eighteen of the passengers on the ill-fated coach of the Tamil Nadu Express that caught fire early on Monday had boarded the train at Delhi.

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Of them, several have suffered severe injures and at least five are missing.

Around 32 people were charred to death near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh when a carriage of the express from Delhi caught fire possibly because of a short circuit.

"Five persons are missing. The injured have been admitted to the Nellore government hospital and emergency desks have been set up at the New Delhi and Sarai Kale Khan stations,” said a senior railway officer.

Delhi-resident Shamsher had been at the station since the morning to find out the whereabouts of his cousin Zakir Husain who was travelling to Chennai from Agra.

"My cousin, who has a business in Aligarh, was travelling to Chennai. Railway officers say he’s untraceable," said Shamsher.

It was only at 9pm that the news of Zakir's death was confirmed.

"We have got to know that he’s dead," he added.

The railways said arrangements had been made to bring the bodies to Delhi.

Deepak Dutt, a resident of Patiala, had been calling enquiry numbers at the New Delhi station since the morning for information about his uncle, Karan Dutt.

"The railway officials say that my uncle’s name is not in their list. I am trying to call him on his cell phone but it has been unreachable. We have been praying for his wellbeing,” Deepak said.