At least 38 dead in Frontier Mail fire

At least 38 dead in Frontier Mail fire

LUDHIANA, India (Reuters) - Fire raced through a crowded passenger train in northern India on Thursday, killing at least 38 people, many of them as they slept, officials said.

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Lets hope rumours don't start about the fire being a religious attack, the authorities have already ruled that out.

I have been following a discussion on the RR forums which began on May 6, and has got quite indignant now since this tragedy.

A genteman began by complaining about a tea vendor keeping his tea warm by using an open-flame stove at the end of his 2ac coach close to the ac mechanism. When challenged, the vendor laughed it off and the guard would not produce the complaints book, hence he was using the RR forum to draw attention to this serious safety violation. Other members confirmed that using stoves was very common on SL cars as well. No RR official responded and now that this tragedy has occurred, there is a lot of anger.

It is very probable that a stove caused this fire -- mosty people perished because they were trapped inside by the luggage blocking the doors.

I would strongly suggest that train passengers be aware of what is going on at the ends of the coach and complain to the guard about any gross threat to safety such as open flames and blocked exits.

m2

the link: http://www.irsuggestions.org/asplist...1.asp?Id=28993