Many passengers were reported injured and at least 16 passengers were accounted ill when a fire broke out in an AC coach on Thursday. The fire broke out when the train left Maidan metro station in the evening. According to sources, 1,500 passengers suffered in the smoke packed coaches. Many passengers tried to break the window and were successful jumping in the tunnel between Rabindra Sadan and Maidan metro station.
16 passengers fall ill after fire breaks out in Kolkata Metro coach
As the chaos outburst, the traffic in the city became chaotic which caused massive traffic problems. Many people who fell sick were rushed to SSKM Hospital. At least 42 passengers were taken to SSKM Hospital while 5 were taken to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.
Passengers complained that they were not rescued immediately and the rescue team took much time to arrive at the location after many calling attempts were made to them.
“A fire broke out in Rabindra Sadan-Maidan metro at around 5.10 pm.The fire was controlled by our staff using fire hydrants. Fire services and Kolkata Police disaster management groups were also involved. The passengers of the affected metro were evacuated safely,” said Metro Railway CPRO Indrani Banerjee.
Some sources said that the fire was detected first at around 4:50 pm when the train was arriving at Maidan station after which the power was turned off and the fire was brought down under the control.
“A lot of smoke was seen as soon as the train left the platform. We understood since there is smoke, there must be fire somewhere. We switched off the power connection and took up efforts to douse the fire. We have rescued all the passengers and there has been no casualty,” said Indrani Banerjee.
Metro services have been halted in the north-bound course.
When the fire broke out, the power was cut which caused the costumer to panic and some of them were stuck for more than 30 minutes inside the train.
“We were stuck inside for more than 40 minutes. We could see flames and feel the smoke. We kept calling on the helpline but no one came to the rescue. Some even jumped off the coach by breaking the windows,” said Aritri Dey, a passenger in the train.
While the commuters claimed that the rescue team arrived late at the spot, a PTI report straight away denied the delayed services.
“Many had injuries and cut marks, a few of them were having breathing problems. Five have been admitted, the rest will be discharged after medication,” said a source at SSKM Hospital.
Well, many people were injured during this incident, but the police have reported that there are no causalities till now and the evacuation was successfully completed.
