Passenger train engine catches fire in MP; none hurt

The engine of a Guna-bound passenger train caught fire Tuesday between Taravat and Bilonia railway stations in Madhya Pradesh, but nobody was injured in the incident, a railway official said. After spotting the fire, the loco pilot of the Gwalior-Bina-Damoh passenger train applied the brakes, following which passengers got off on the tracks.

Guna station falls under the Bhopal division of the West Central Railways. "Nobody was injured in the incident which occurred around 12:40 pm," said Guna-Gwalior section engineer Chandra Prakash Gupta.

A relief train from Guna reached the spot, and flames were doused by separating the bodies from the engine. According to eyewitnesses, railway staff and local villagers offered water to the panicked passengers.

The train remained stranded on the tracks for nearly two hours before another locomotive was brought in which pulled the train to Guna station, around 10 km away from the spot, the official said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.