9 killed in TN fire; authorities blame cylinder taken inside ‘illegally’

At least nine pilgrims bound for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu met with a tragic end on Saturday when a fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment at the railway station here in the small hours of Saturday, the Southern Railway said.

It also said a gas cylinder “illegally” taken inside the coach led to the blaze.

They had embarked on the pilgrimage from Lucknow last week in a private party coach, and most of them hailed from the Uttar Pradesh capital and its nearby areas.