Lucknow, 25 Aug: Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, expressed sorrow on Saturday over the deaths in a fire that broke out inside a halted train compartment at the Madurai railway station in Tamil Nadu.
He also declared a Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of those killed in the event belonging to Uttar Pradesh.. At least ten persons were “reported dead” in the railway compartment fire.
According to the Southern Railways, the “private party coach” with 65 people had arrived from Lucknow. “Instructions have been given to provide an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of every citizen of Uttar Pradesh who died in this accident,” the chief minister stated on the X, previously Twitter, platform.
“The tragic loss of life in a railway accident in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is incredibly sad and heartbreaking. My heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved families,” he stated.
The Uttar Pradesh government stated in a statement that the chief minister talked with the railway minister and obtained information on the event. Adityanath further stated on X that officials have been given orders to ensure that the injured receive adequate treatment.
He further stated that a toll-free hotline 1070 has been established for immediate help. The state of Uttar Pradesh also provided hotline numbers 9454441081 and 9454441075. The Southern Railways stated in a statement that the fire started at 5.15 a.m. on Saturday and was extinguished by 7.15 a.m.
“This is a private party coach that was attached to Train No.16730 (Punalur-Madurai Express) at Nagercoil Junction yesterday (August 25). The party coach was separated and parked at the Madurai stabling line. The occupants on the private party bus “smuggled a gas cylinder, which caused the fire,” according to the statement. The party coach set out from Lucknow on August 17 and was supposed to travel to Chennai on Sunday before returning to Lucknow.
