Five coaches of Avadh Express gutted in fire, no injuries

AHMEDABAD: Passengers on-board the Mumbai-bound Avadh Express had a miraculous escape when five coaches of the train were gutted in a major fire in Bharuch district near here early this morning, official sources said.

No one was injured in the fire which broke out at about 0125 hrs, they said.

The train, coming from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, was passing through Lakodra station when the fire broke out in one of its coaches and soon engulfed four other compartments before the fire tenders were pressed into service, the sources said.

The train resumed its journey at 0600 hrs, leaving the damaged coaches at the station. All the passengers of the five compartments were shifted to other rakes of the Express, the sources said.

The Railways has launched a probe into the incident to determine the cause of the fire, they said.

Meanwhile, rail traffic on the uplinking line between Vadodara and Mumbai was affected due to damage in high tension lines. Work on replacing the damaged lines between Lakodra and Palej has started and traffic is expected to resume soon, the sources said.