Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express fire mishap: Passengers recount ordeal 

At a time when the memories of the Bahanaga train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore district are still fresh in the minds of people, a fire mishap in three coaches of the Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express on Friday morning sent a shiver down the passengers’ spine. 

The fire broke out in three coaches (S4, S5 and S6) when the train was between Pagidipalli and Bommaipalli stations. Immediately after the mishap was reported, the train was stopped and all the passengers deboarded. No injury or casualty was reported in the mishap.   

Narrating his experience, Pradeep Das, who was travelling in the ill-fated train, said, “I was travelling in an A/C coach. Immediately after the fire was reported, the train was brought to a screeching halt. The passengers lost no time in deboarding the train. It was a remote place. I was there for half an hour and didn’t get any news of any passenger suffering injuries. But, all of us were panicked. However, the government had arranged buses for the passengers. We had to walk to reach the main road and from there I boarded a bus to reach my destination.”

Expressing his concern, another passenger said, “The fire broke out in S4 and S5. The affected coaches didn’t have any RPF personnel. I don’t know the reason but the possibility of a passenger throwing a cigarette butt cannot be ruled out. Officials came to our rescue after half an hour of the incident.”

“The coach I was travelling in ran out of water at 8 am. We were thirsty. At the mishap site, the school children came to our rescue and offered us water,” rued a passenger. 

Another female passenger said, “I was travelling in the bogie just behind the affected one. All the passengers were terrified. We experienced breathing problems. While rushing out of the compartment, many got hurt as well. Later, doctors reached the spot and examined the injured passengers.”