Man accidentally steps onto fellow rail passenger's bag containing matchboxes, friction causes fire in coach

New Delhi: A train’s coach caught fire this week when a man accidentally stepped onto a fellow passenger’s bag containing matchboxes and inflammable objects which got ignited due to friction, officials said.

The incident took place early morning on November 10 in Unchahar Express near Etawah station when the man was alighting from the middle berth.

The Government Railway Police lodged an FIR against the bag owner for travelling with prohibited items such as matchboxes and inflammable objects.

According to railway officials, the train arrived at Etawah early Sunday morning and after about 10 minutes when it started moving, some passengers pulled the chain to stop it.

“A fire was reported around berth number 49 to 53 in S-4 coach and by the time the Railway Protection Force, station master and other officers reached the spot, passengers with the help of onboard railway employees put it out with the help of fire extinguishers. When the situation was brought under control, passengers informed us of the cause of the fire,” a railway official said.

“Since the train almost left the Etawah station, it was allowed to move to the nearest station Ekdil, where it didn’t have any scheduled stoppage.The train was taken in a loop line to give way to the other important trains running behind it. The bag owner and three other members of his family were de-boarded and booked for illegally carrying prohibited items,” he added.

According to the railway official, some passengers reported bursting sounds from the bag after it caught fire, suggesting that he might be carrying crackers or some inflammable material which spread immediately to other bags kept close to each other.

“A probe has been launched into the incident to find out the exact objects that the person was carrying,” said Shashi Kant Tripathi, Chief Public Relation Officer of North Central Railway.

“We have been continuously educating passengers through public address systems and other means not to carry inflammable objects as they are a risk to the life of the traveller as well as fellow passengers but some people ignore these warnings and face consequences,” he added.