The Railway police in Kannur have apprehended a man from West Bengal in connection with the fire that destroyed an empty coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express at the Kannur railway station. Officials confirmed the identification of the individual from CCTV footage in the vicinity, and his arrest will be documented shortly.
The man was observed approaching the train from Bharat Petroleum Corporation’s nearby fuel storage facility. There are suspicions that this same person was responsible for setting fire to a thicket near the tracks two months prior.
Fortunately, the train was stationary on a track several meters away from the platform and the Bharat Petroleum fuel depot. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames before they spread to other coaches, averting a major tragedy. As the incident occurred after all passengers had disembarked, no injuries were reported, according to an officer from RPS Kannur.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan condemned the incident and urged the government to take immediate action to ensure the safety of trains.
However, it is yet to be determined whether the fire resulted from sabotage or an electrical malfunction, said an officer from the Kannur fire and rescue station. The incident was reported around 1:30 am, and upon arrival at the scene, firefighters found one of the coaches completely engulfed in flames. Television broadcasts displayed dramatic footage of massive flames and thick smoke billowing from the coach windows.
Four fire tenders were deployed, and by approximately 3:15 am, the flames were extinguished. The coach that caught fire was the third from the rear of the train. A forensic investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident, the fire rescue officer added.
On April 2, a train arson in Kozhikode district resulted in the deaths of three people, including a baby. The accused had set his fellow passengers on fire aboard the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express as it approached the Korapuzha bridge near Elathur in Kozhikode. Three individuals, including a toddler, were found dead on the tracks, while nine others suffered burn injuries. Police suspect that some may have fallen off the moving train while attempting to escape the fire.
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