A fire swept through a passenger car of a train in southern India on Monday, killing at least 27 people, the authorities said. They cautioned that the death toll could rise further.
Emergency crews are at the scene of the blaze, extricating bodies and injured passengers from the gutted car of the Tamil Nadu Express in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh State, according to officials.
Emergency crews are at the scene of the blaze, extricating bodies and injured passengers from the gutted car of the Tamil Nadu Express in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh State, according to officials.
Twenty-seven dead bodies have been pulled out so far and 26 passengers hospitalized, said B. Sreedhar, the district's top administrator. The recovered bodies were severely burned, he added.
The authorities fear the number of people killed may increase to as many as 35, he said. The car had a total of 72 passengers inside, according to the authorities.
An electrical short-circuit is believed to have caused the fire, said Sreedhar.
The train was bound for Chennai in Tamil Nadu State from New Delhi.
India's vast rail network, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers daily, has had issues with its safety record.
The country reported 93 train crashes during 2010 and 2011, official figures show. The authorities say that more than 40% of train accidents happen at unguarded railway crossings.
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