Two killed in train blast

NEW DELHI, April 16: Two people were killed and three injured in a blast inside a Delhi-bound local train, minutes after it had pulled ou...

NEW DELHI, April 16: Two people were killed and three injured in a blast inside a Delhi-bound local train, minutes after it had pulled out from the Holambi Kalan station near Narela this evening. A bomb placed under a seat of the Panipat-Delhi EMU ripped through the last bogie of the train at around 6.37 p.m., just as it crossed the board that read Holambi Kalan. The bogie caught fire immediately.

Recounting the incident, Station Master Banwari Lal says: 8220;The train stops here for a minute. It had come in at 6.35 p.m. and at 6.36 p.m. we gave it the green signal to go ahead. The last bogie or the brake van had just crossed the platform when we heard the boom. In minutes the bogie was on fire and people were jumping out. The train had stopped by then.8221; The train had started its journey from Panipat at 5.20 p.m.

Raghubir, a resident of Holami Kalan village was standing on the opposite side of the track, watching the train pull out of the station when the incident happened. 8220;The train chugged out and a little while later there was this loud bang,8221; he recalls. 8220;I saw a flash and then the bogie was on fire. People were jumping out even as the train came to a screeching halt.8221;

As guard Chaman Lal activated the emergency brakes, passengers jumped out of the burning bogie. But not everybody jumped out to safety. Inside the blown-up compartment, between all the mangled pieces of metal were the bodiesof two passengers, both burnt beyond recognition.

Three passengers were injured. Rajbir Singh, former railway employee and head constable Subey Singh Saini were rushed to the Bansal Nursing Home in Narela. Singh had a fractured leg, while Saini suffered burn injuries. After first-aid they were sent to St Stephen8217;s Hospital. The third person injured in the blast has been identified as Subhash, a resident of Haryana. None of them are said to be in any danger. There were around 20 passengers in the coach.

Of the 16 bogies in the train, the last was totally damaged and the one before was partially affected. 8220;The first fire tender arrived only at 7.30 p.m., an hour after the incident,8221; says Lal. 8220;Till they came we tried to put out the fire by throwing buckets of water. We managed to stop the fire from spreading to the other compartments. But most of the damage had been done by then.8221;

Four hours after the blast, smoke was still pouring out of the bogie. At 10.30 p.m. the station master had to make another call to the fire station asking them to send back a tender to put out the smoke.

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According to railway officials, the low casualty count in the incident is because of the fact that the blast took place in the brake van, which usually has one-fourth the passengers in any other compartment. However, they also say that the fire spread quickly because of the extensive wiring network inside the brake van.

While a string of senior railway and police officials visited the site, traffic on the route was restored almost immediately. The damaged coach of the EMU was detached and the train carried on its journey. Traffic on the other tracks was also restored. Trains were only asked to slow down as they crossed the burnt bogie.