With three more bodies recovered from the charred AC coach of Bangalore-Nanded Express, the death toll in the accident has gone up to 26.
“So far, 26 persons have died in the incident. Rescue operations are still going on,” Anantpur District SP S. Senthil Kumar told PTI.
The fire broke out at 3:30 a.m. in the B1 coach packed with 64 passengers at Kothacheravu Railway Station. A majority of the passengers were sleeping when the fire broke out.
Forensic teams from Hyderabad are on their way the spot to collect samples for analysis. Most of the injured have been treated as out patients in different hospitals, Senthil Kumar said.
Director-General of Andhra Pradesh Police B. Prasada Rao in a press release said that the cause of the fire in the B1 coach (3 Tier AC ) of the Bangalore-Nanded Express Train No: 16594 was an "electrical short-circuit in the air conditioning unit''.
Rao said that 26 passengers died and 13 were injured. About 64 passengers were travelling in the coach. The fire was noticed between 3.20 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. at a distance of 2 km from Kothacheruvu Railway Station in Ananthapur.
District Medical and Health Officials said that they are conducting autopsy of the deceased at the accident spot.
Dr C. Ramasubba Rao, DM and HO, said femur (thighbone) of the deceased will be preserved for DNA test as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
This is the second train accident in the district. In March last year, 25 passengers were killed near Penukonda when the Bangalore-bound Hampi Express rammed into a stationary goods train after its driver apparently overshot the signal near the station here in the wee hours.