Smoke on Bengaluru-Howrah Duronto Express causes panic. Then a clarification
The incident happened while the train was approaching Kuppam Station in Chittoor district. Local police rushed to rescue passengers after getting information, the railways said.
Panic gripped passengers onboard a Bengaluru-Howrah Duronto Express train near Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday after smoke was seen coming out of a bogie due to an apparent malfunction of the brakes. The train had departed from Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru and was on its way to Kolkata in West Bengal there was a complaint of an apparent fire.
The incident happened while the train was approaching Kuppam Station in Chittoor district. Local police rushed to rescue passengers after getting information, the railways said.
According to the Indian Railways, as quoted by ANI, one of the bogies of the Duronto Express train had suffered brake binding and released smoke as a result of friction of the brake block.
Images shared by the agency showed smoke coming out of a coach of the Duronto Express train as passengers rushed out of it. Railway officials were seen working to assess the problem.
Officials told news agency ANI that the ‘fire’ had been doused and no casualties have been reported. The railways clarified later that it was not a case of fire but just smoke in the brakes.
“On Train no 12246 Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal - Howrah Duronto Express while approaching Kuppam Station, Chittoor Dist (Bengaluru Division/SWR) the Train Manager (Guard) noticed smoke coming in from one of the coaches at about 12.50 Hrs,” a statement by the Southern Western Railways read.
“This is not a fire accident, but a case of brake binding. The on board staff attended it immediately and train was started at 13.36 hrs,” read a clarification by the railways.
