HYDERABAD: The extensive damage caused to an electrical junction box in S9 coach of the Chennai-Hyderabad Express, whose five coaches were destroyed in a fire on Sunday morning, could well provide the key to the mysterious accident.

Junction boxes are located adjacent to the toilets in the coaches. In the S9 coach, where the fire broke out and spread to adjoining coaches, such was the intensity of the heat that even the steel washbasins near the toilets melted.

But in S10, S8, S7 and S6 coaches, the damage was not to that extent, an official said under condition of anonymity. "This may give us the lead to find out the mystery," he said.

Though the police are inquiring into the case from various angles, they are yet to collect vital evidence that led to the accident. No suspicious objects, including inflammable substances, were found despite searching the entire length of tracks from Secunderabad to Bansilalpet area where the train stopped. When the police inquired with some residents on either side of the tracks, they informed that the train was reportedly stopped at the same spot for some 15 minutes. When it started moving, suddenly smoke began emanating from the coach and soon spread to other coaches. "A resident who came to answer nature's call told us," the official said.

An official from Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) said remnants of partially and completely burnt coaches were collected and sent for chemical analysis. The report was awaited, he said.

When contacted, Railway Superintendent (Secunderabad Division) K. Venugopal Rao said the reasons for the accident could be ascertained only after getting the FSL report. "We are also trying to get the complete maintenance records of the coaches," he said.

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