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Inflammable material caused train fire?

Special Correspondent

Intensity of fire shows it is sudden, says official
Hot axle phenomenon, short circuit ruled out

HYDERABAD: Distinct oil marks found in the S-10 coach of Gautami Express have led South Central Railway authorities to suspect that Friday’s devastating fire that consumed 31 lives may have been caused by inflammable material aboard the train.

These patches were found in the aisle between the two toilets and were video-graphed. According to Panabaka Krishnaiah, Chief Public Relations Officer, SCR, the intensity of the fire and the raging inferno later showed that it was sudden and not gradual. Moreover, a cooking stove was also found in the compartment. “The fire could have either been deliberate or accidental,” he said.

“It could not have been caused by the hot axle phenomenon that mainly occurs in the summer and leaves round burn marks. Even the theory of short-circuit does not appear plausible as all were sleeper coaches that are not easily prone to such a fire unlike the air-conditioned coaches that consume heavy power,” he told The Hindu.

The SCR’s observations are partly in tune with those of the Forensic Science Laboratory that believes the fire indeed started in the S-10 compartment, probably in the fourth and fifth bays.

Meanwhile, 34 hours after the tragedy, doctors at MGM Hospital in Warangal have completed post-mortem on the remains of all the 29 charred bodies.

They had established that nine of them were women and seven men. The remaining bodies would be re-examined, said A. Ravi Chandra, Superintendent, Government Railway Police, Secunderabad, now camping in Warangal.

In Warangal, the remains of the dead were taken in separate plastic bags to the MGM Hospital mortuary. Each bag bore the seat number from where it was found.

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