A fire broke out on a Dhaka-bound intercity train from Sylhet called Kalni Express at the capital’s cantonment railway station yesterday. No casualties were reported from the incident.
“The fire originated from a gas cylinder leakage from the kitchen of the dining coach around 1:30pm and soon spread to two other passengers compartment,” Atiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of airport police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Seven fire fighting units rushed to the spot and doused the fire after a 45-minute effort. No casualties were reported as the train had arrived at the station and the passengers rushed out of the train following the fire,” he added.
“Primarily, the fire started in the kitchen of the train and soon spread to two other compartments because of the wind,” said Shajadi Sultana, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Asked about the losses incurred from the fire, Bangladesh Railway Divisional Commission Officer Mahbubur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the fire has totally damaged two compartments of the intercity train.
“We have formed two probe bodies – one headed by the divisional traffic officer of Dhaka and the other by the chief engineer of the East Zone of the railway,” he said.
“The committee would hold a meeting after the investigation to find reasons behind the fire and estimate the loss incurred from the fire and then we would able to tell the exact amount,” he added.
The fire has damaged almost two compartments of the intercity train and in this way the loss estimated would be around Tk10 crore.
