Many perish in India train fire

At least 39 passengers died when three coaches of an express train caught fire in northern India early today, police said.

An additional 20 passengers suffered burns as the blaze engulfed the rear coaches of the Golden Temple Express, which was heading to the northern Indian city of Amritsar from Bombay, police officer Amandeep Singh said.

Mr Singh said authorities had recovered 39 bodies.

A railroad official said the fire started in the toilet of one of the coaches and spread quickly to two other coaches.

The train stopped as panicked passengers pulled the emergency chains and the burning coaches were detached at Ladhowal railroad station, nearly 195 miles north of New Delhi.

Harpal Singh, a businessman from New Delhi, survived but his friend Paramjit Singh perished in the fire.

“I was awakened by the shouts of passengers and found my way to another coach using the vestibule,” Mr Singh said after the train reached the northern city of Amritsar.

“Passengers pulled the chain to stop the train after they noticed the fire. They jumped off as the train slowed down and came to a halt,” he said.

Rescuers and local villagers took nearly three hours to extinguish the flames, police said.

“The cause of the fire is being investigated,” said rail minister Nitish Kumar.

The injured were taken to hospital in the nearby city of Ludhiana in Punjab state.

Police found 34 bodies in one coach, where most passengers were sleeping.

The spreading fire jammed doors, trapping passengers, Mr Singh said.

Five bodies were found in a second burned coach and passengers in the third coach escaped without any casualties, Mr Singh said.