Dimapur, March 23 (EMN): Two passengers of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express died on Friday after they jumped out of the moving train between the Chaterhat and Nijbari section in West Bengal when they saw smoke emanating from the locomotive’s engine, said Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma.
The guard of a passing goods train saw smoke and flame coming out of the rear engine of the express train in the afternoon and reported it to its driver, he said.
As panic spread among the passengers, two of them jumped out and died of injuries, the officer said.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and extinguished the flames, sources said, adding another engine was attached to the train, which then proceeded to Chaterhat.
Prima facie it is appears the fuel tank of the rear engine had fallen off, got dragged along the track and caught fire, he said.
The main line on the route under Barsoi-New Jalpaiguri section of North East Frontier Railway was blocked due to the incident.
A probe into the incident is being conducted by the Railway authorities.
