4 die on Kerala Express due to heatwave

Four passengers, all senior citizens from Tamil Nadu travelling in an ordinary sleeper class train compartment, died in Jhansi apparently due to extreme heat as north India sizzled with mercury crossing 46 degree Celsius levels and above.

The four travelling from Agra to Coimbatore in Kerala Express train had taken ill in Gwalior and had collapsed by the time the train reached Jhansi, a senior Railway official said.

Three of them were declared dead in the train at the Jhansi railway station here, while another person who was taken to Jhansi Medical College died during treatment, said Railway PRO Manoj Kumar Singh on Tuesday.

The dead have been identified as Bundur Pachaiyappa (80), Balakrishna Ramaswami (69), Devyani (74) and Subbaraiya (87), all of whom were travelling to Coimbatore in sleeper class S8 and S9 coaches.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Jhansi Railway Station Singh further said: "They were feeling uneasy in the train at Gwalior. They were given a check up at Jhansi railway station by a doctor who declared Pachiyappa, Ramaswami and Devyani dead. Subbaraiyya was admitted to the district hospital where he died during treatment."

The bodies have been sent for the post-mortem examination. A further report is awaited.

Like several parts of the country, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh has been in the grip of a heat wave with temperatures hovering around 45 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday the city recorded temperature of 48 degrees Celsius and the previous day it recorded 48.1 degrees Celsius with officials issued a warning for severe heat wave.