Fire Kills 9 In Train Carriage In India

Nine people have died after a fire broke out in a stationary train carriage in the southern Indian city of Madurai.

The blaze started after a gas cylinder being used by some passengers to make tea on a stove exploded, Madurai district collector, M.S. Sangeetha said.

More than 50 passengers were travelling in the carriage, which was detached from the train and parked separately at the station, Sangeetha said.

The fire, which broke out, burned for a couple of hours before it was brought under control by firefighters, while 20 people were injured in the accident.

Meanwhile, police officials inspect the charred scene, survivors had to break open doors to flee the compartment, according to witness accounts.

The incident comes after more than 250 people died in India’s deadliest rail crash in more than two decades when three trains were involved in a collision in the eastern state of Orissa in June.

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere