Jharkhand: Passengers, drivers escape unhurt after train engine catches fire

Passengers and drivers of the Gomo-Barwadih passenger train in Jharkhand had a miraculous escape after the engine caught fire.

LATEHAR

A short circuit is suspected to have started the fire in the engine of the Gomo-Barwadih passenger train in Jharkhand. All passengers and the two drivers escaped unhurt.(HT Photo)

Hundreds of passengers aboard Gomo-Barwadih passenger train in Jharkhand escaped unhurt on Sunday after the electric engine of the train caught fire just before it reached Mahuamilan railway station on the Coal India Chord (CIC) section of the East Central Railway (ECR).

The driver and assistant driver were also reported to be safe.

Firefighters, who were rushed to the spot from Latehar, brought the fire that was spreading to nearby bogies under control after an hour.

Pradeep Shahdev, an eyewitness who was present at the station, said: “First, I saw flames coming out of the railway engine as soon as it stopped. Soon, passengers travelling in the train started jumping out of it.”

“I am fortunate that I escaped unhurt. I fear the worst would have happened if the train had not stopped in time,” said Suresh Singh, a passenger of the train.

Mahuamilan is 45 km from the Latehar district headquarters. The incident which took place at 5.10 pm disrupted movement of trains on this section.

The burning engine of the Gomo-Barwadih passenger train in Jharkhand. (HT Photo)

More than a hundred trains, mostly freight trains, pass through the route daily.

Tori station manager Ashok Kumar who rushed to the spot along with railway police personnel refused to comment on the fire.

Railway officials suspect a short circuit may have sparked the fire. The engine of the train was completed destroyed in the fire.