Two coaches of Patalkot Express train catch fire in Agra, 9 injured

Two coaches of Patalkot Express train caught fire in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh Wednesday afternoon, leaving at least nine passengers injured, officials said.

The train was heading to Seoni in Madhya Pradesh from Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab when the fire broke out in the third and fourth coaches from the engine around 3.45 pm, they said.

Agra Railway Division PRO Prashasti Srivastava said the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

"A fire incident in Patalkot Express has been reported between Bhandai and Jajau in NCR (North Central Railway), Agra Division.... Two coaches have been completely burnt. Since two adjacent coaches have also been affected, a total of four coaches have been detached from the train.... The situation is under control," she said.

The train left for its destination at 5.50 pm after accommodating the passengers of the affected coaches in other coaches, a railway official said.

Dr Prashant Gupta, Principal of S N Medical College in Agra, said that a total of nine people were admitted to hospitals.

"Seven were admitted to my hospital and two to a nearby hospital. Three of them have already been discharged from both hospitals. At present five patients in my hospital and one in the other hospital are being treated. All of them have minor burn injuries," he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) of the Agra Police Commissionerate Sonam Kumar said five fire tenders and a forensic team reached the spot after the fire was reported.

According to a railway source, Bhandai station is about 10 km from Agra station and the fire broke out when the train left Bhandai for the next station, Jajau.

According to railway officials, the train was stopped when smoke was detected and it was immediately evacuated.

Train operations on Agra-Dholpur route have been impacted as many trains have been stopped at various stations, the source said.

The express train runs between Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab and Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.

In August, a fire broke out in two air-conditioned coaches of the stationary Udyan Express at the Bengaluru City Railway Station.

There were no casualties as no passengers were inside the train when the fire broke out in the morning of August 19. bogies.