NEW DELHI — A hearth erupted inside a stationary prepare compartment at a railway station in southern India, killing 9 folks on Saturday morning, officers mentioned.

The blaze broke out at 5 a.m. and burned for 2 hours earlier than firefighters had been in a position to put it out, authorities mentioned.

It began inside a prepare’s non-public compartment, which was indifferent and parked on the tracks within the Madurai station, positioned within the southern state of Tamil Nadu, in response to an announcement by the Southern Railway.

A fuel cylinder smuggled in by passengers brought on the hearth, the assertion learn, including that police, fireplace and rescue officers helped pull out the our bodies. There was no injury to different coaches.

Southern Railway didn’t say how many individuals had been contained in the compartment on the time of the hearth, however mentioned many managed to get out.

Officials advised the Press Trust of India information company that 20 others had been injured and brought to a hospital.

Accidents are widespread on India’s railroad community, one of many world’s largest, with some 22 million passengers day by day. Most collisions and fires are blamed on poor upkeep and human error.

In June, a lethal prepare collision killed over 290 folks in one among India’s worst prepare accidents.