One person was killed after two compartments of the Tatanagar-Ernakulam Express caught fire at Yalamanchili, about 66 km from Visakhapatnam, police said on Monday.
The police received information about the fire at 12.45 am.
A police official told reporters that there were 82 passengers in one of the affected coaches and 76 in another when the train caught fire.
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“Unfortunately, a dead body was found in the B1 coach,” the official added.
The deceased was identified as Chandrsekhar Sundaram.
The two damaged coaches were detached from the train, which proceeded towards Ernakulam. The passengers in the damaged coaches will be sent to their destinations.
Two forensic teams are working to ascertain the cause of the fire, the police official said.
The South Central Railway, in a statement, said B1 and M2 coaches of the train (No.18189) caught fire and the Railway staff swiftly acted and immediately informed the Fire brigade.
The Railway officials also swung into action and assisted passengers in deboarding the train.
The fire brigade reached the spot and extinguished the fire.
As a precaution, both the affected coaches and an additional AC III Tier Coach (M1) were detached.
The remaining coaches are currently being moved to Samalkot Railway Station, where three empty replacement coaches will be attached to the formation.
Meanwhile, passengers from the affected coaches are being shifted to Samalkot station by arranging bus services.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety and other senior officials of SCR have rushed to the site, alongside forensic and medical teams to determine the cause of the fire and assess any casualties.
All necessary precautions in coordination with local administration are being taken, even as the SCR has set up Helpline Numbers to provide assistance and train running information, the release added.
