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ShareBhuj: In an unprecedented train fire in the state, 22 railway wagons carrying highly inflammable naphtha were gutted when a goods train caught fire after derailment between Lakadia and Shivlakha railway stations in eastern Kutch late on Sunday evening. It is estimated that naphtha worth Rs4 crore was burnt in the fire.
Due to timely action, as many as 26 wagons carrying naphtha were saved from catching fire. There was no loss of lives in the fire.
The goods train was carrying naphtha, a feedstock for petroleum industry, from Indian Oil Corporation's Panipat refinery in Haryana to Kandla port for export. It caught fire just after leaving Shivlakha railway station and was some eight-km away from Lakadia village of Bhachau taluka, a short distance from Kandla port.
Incidentally, Kandla is the only port in the country from where IOC exports its surplus naphtha.
The fire could be fully controlled only around Monday noon, after the naphtha in 22 wagons was totally burnt.
District magistate RR Varsani and district superintendent of police Wabang Jamir spent the night at the accident site. On their return here on Monday morning, they told DNA that though the fire was a major one, there was no casualty of any kind. Varsani said that the exact cause of fire would be known only after an inquiry by railway experts, but, prima facie, it appears to have been caused by friction during derailment.
Sources said that fire tenders of various agencies, including Kandla Port Trust, IFFCO Kandla, GAIL and CLR, rushed to the accident site on receipt of information. KPT's fire tenders were the first to reach the site. "When we reached the site in less than an hour of the mishap, we saw 17 to 18 bogies totally enveloped in fire. The fire was so intense that it was not possible to go near it. We advised railway authorities to detach the wagons which had not caught fire. On our part, we extinguished fire in the last four wagons, which had partly caught fire," said a source in the KPT team.
The Kandla-based senior terminal manager of IOC, KS Rao, told this reporter that 26 wagons were saved. "I don't know the cause of the fire, but it was certainly the biggest train fire I have seen," he said.
Railway authorities are on the job to restore the damaged railway line at the earliest. Naphtha supplies to the Kandla port for export are likely to be resumed from Tuesday after restoration of the railway track.
