Warangal (AP) (PTI): Charred bogies, heaps of skulls and bones and grieving passengers tell the story of the fire tragedy that struck the sleeping passengers of Gouthami Express in the wee hours of Friday.

The enormity of the tragedy was reflected in the badly-mangled coaches of the Secunderabad-Kakinada train which turned into a moving inferno following the fire.

Such was the impact of the fire that many bodies were charred beyond recognition. Among the dead were several physically-challenged persons who could not escape in time.

The passengers got a rude shock at night when the fire was first noticed in the S-9 sleeper coach by railway personnel.

The train had just left Kesamudram station and it was 1.15 am when the passengers woke up to the smell of smoke amid cries for help.

The fire soon spread to four more coaches as the train was going at a speed of around 100 km per hour.

"There was a scramble to escape. The exit door was locked and it was not opening. There was a large plume of smoke. It was so terrible that my throat was choked," a woman passenger said.

An alert railway police constable Srinivas was among the first to pull the chain and help a large number of passengers escape from the burning train.

Many passengers jumped out of the moving train but there were several who could not make it.

Three among a group of six physically-challenged persons from East Godavari district who were returning home after attending a training camp in Hyderabad are believed to have died as they could not escape.

"I managed to come out of the burning coach. I met two of our friends. Three others were trapped inside," a weeping woman passenger said.

For 39-year-old Bhagya Lakshmi, a housewife, death came calling as she could not escape.

The woman was returning to her native Rajahmundry after attending the counseling in Hyderabad for her son's admission to MBBS course.

While her husband and son managed to escape, Lakshmi fell victim to the raging fire, her sister said.

"It came as a shock to us. She was a courageous woman and had big dreams for her son. We are not able to come to terms with her death," a neighbour said.

Among the victims was a young medical professional Sarita who was returning to Kakinada to attend a family function.

Recounting the ordeal, a survivor said, "it was pitch dark when we jumped out of the train. We saw ambulances in a distance but they could not immediately reach us."

A doctor travelling in the train lamented that he could not help many injured passengers as basic first aid equipment was not available.