I was suffocating due to the smoke... felt that now perhaps we will not survive; Passenger told how he survived

People injured in the massive fire that broke out in S-6 coach of Vaishali Express train going from Delhi to Saharsa near Mainpuri Outer Gate in Friends Colony police station area of Etawah district, described the scene after the fire. Meanwhile, on Thursday, DM Avnish Rai and SSP Sanjay Kumar Verma reached Saifai Medical College to inquire about the well being of the people injured in the accident.

Achhenand Prasad, resident of Kithpura village in Gopalganj district of Bihar, told that he works in Delhi. He was going to attend Chhath Puja at home with his daughter Jyoti, Dhanpati, Gayatri, grandson Anuj. During this time a sudden fire broke out in the train.

At that time all three daughters and grandson were sleeping. As soon as the train caught fire and smoke started spreading, the children were quickly woken up and jumped out of the emergency window. During this time the children and us got injured.

Mohd., resident of village Siltu of Vallaha police station of Shipul district of Bihar. Masruddin told that everyone was sleeping at night. During this time suddenly noise started. When we woke up, we saw that there was screaming all around. We somehow saved our lives by jumping from the emergency window.

Due to this he suffered a head injury. He was going to his home from Delhi. Ashok Kumar, resident of Dhanipur Karmani, Gonda, told that he lives in Delhi with his wife Lakshmi and sons Rohan and Gaurav. Our elder brother's son died due to illness. Going to his home to attend his last darshan.

 

Suddenly the train caught fire. Somehow we were coming down with our child and wife. During this, there was a push from behind, due to which we got injured. Mohd., resident of Mohla Gidha ward number four of Maghpura district of Bihar. Asrududdin told that he was going to his home from Delhi. Because his wife was unwell.

As soon as information about the fire was received, there was a stampede. He started suffocating from the smoke. Felt that now perhaps we will not survive. Somehow, with the help of people, they were taken out and brought to the hospital.

Let us tell you that within a span of about nine hours, this was the second incident of train fire in Etawah on the New Delhi-Howrah railway track. A fire broke out in the S-6 coach of Vaishali Express going from New Delhi to Bihar at around 2 am on Wednesday night. Since it was night, the passengers could not understand anything and a stampede broke out. Eight passengers sustained burn injuries in the accident.

13 passengers were admitted to the hospital due to suffocation and falling unconscious. Officials have expressed fear of fire due to flammable material being put in the dustbin. On Wednesday evening, four coaches of New Delhi-Darbhanga Clone Express caught fire near Sarai Bhupat station.

Vaishali Express going from Delhi to Saharsa stopped due to closure of OHE connectivity at around 2:12 pm on Wednesday night near pillar number 1158/08 between Adda Zalim and Shiva Colony, about two kilometers before Etawah Junction station. As soon as the train stopped, fire suddenly started blazing in the S-6 coach. Seeing this there was a stampede. The passengers somehow saved their lives by jumping. There was a delay in evacuating some sleeping people. Due to this, eight people got burnt due to this fire.

At the same time, the condition of 13 people deteriorated due to suffocation due to smoke and falling amid the stampede. Seeing the fire, GRP escorts with the help of local people saved the fire from spreading by running submersibles installed in the houses.

On information, SP Dehat Satpal Singh reached the spot with fire brigade and ambulance vehicles. The fire brigade extinguished the blazing fire. Then the burnt people were taken to the district hospital, while the people having difficulty in breathing and who fell unconscious were admitted to Saifai Medical College. At the same time, all the passengers were shifted to other coaches and the train was dispatched at 06:14.

About a quarter of an hour after the accident, at 3:37 am on Thursday, the burnt coach was separated and brought to the train junction station. The burnt coach of Vaishali Express was brought to the loop line of the junction station with a separate engine along with the burnt coaches of Clone Express.

GRP Agra Superintendent of Police Amit Jangge and Tehsildar Sadar Jaiprakash Singh inquired about the well-being of the burnt passengers admitted in the emergency of the district hospital at 8 am on Thursday. The DM and SSP took stock of the patients admitted in Saifai. According to the officers, prima facie it appears that the fire may have been caused by throwing some inflammable substance in the dustbin.