Hyderabad, July 30
At least 32 passengers were charred to death and 25 others injured today when a massive fire swept through a sleeper coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The tragedy struck in the wee hours when the superfast train was moving at a speed of 110 kmph. The train was just a kilometre away from Nellore station when flames engulfed S-11 coach, turning it into an inferno on wheels.

Most of the passengers were fast asleep when the fire was first noticed at 4.15 am and before the train could come to a halt, the lives of 32 passengers were snuffed out by the raging fire. The screaming passengers rushed towards the exit door to escape from the tragedy.

Such was the intensity of the fire that several bodies were charred beyond recognition and the Railway authorities ordered DNA tests to confirm the identity of the victims. The mishap occurred between Vedayapalem and Nellore stations on Vijayawada-Gudur Section. The dead included some software engineers returning to Chennai after a vacation.

Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately to put out the fire and they managed to restrict the blaze to the S-11 bogie, the Railway officials said. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Mukul Roy did not rule out sabotage angle and indicated that there could have been a blast.

Speaking in Kolkata, the Railway Minister said: “Some of the injured passengers undergoing treatment at the hospitals and a gateman at one of the level crossings near Nellore station heard a loud sound when the fire broke out in the coach”.

He also quoted a Divisional Railway Manager as saying that there was a report of a blast in the bogie.

“Nothing can be excluded and nothing can be said without an investigation. It will be investigated if inflammable substances were in the compartment or it was caused by a short circuit,” Roy said.

Some passengers, who had a miraculous escape from the inferno, said they heard an explosion before a thick smoke and fire engulfed their coach.

However, the Nellore District Collector B Sridhar said there was a short circuit near the toilet which could have led to the devastating fire.