Title - It was a deadly smoke chamber

"Carbon monoxide made sleeping passengers immobile."

For the 72 passengers, the S-11 coach of New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express turned into an inescapable and deadly smoke chamber in no time. Some succumbed in their sleep, while others managed to come out with burns.

Prashanthi, a techie in Chennai, said that when she woke up, all she could see was smoke while she felt difficulty in breathing.

She picked up courage, rose from her berth and came towards the door. As the door was closed, somebody told her to come out through the adjacent coach.

After coming out, Prashanthi saw many people gathering outside the coach. She thought of her friends who boarded the same coach at Warangal. Sindhu could be found but D. Shalini was missing. They were seen waiting in anxiety as the officials launched shifting of charred bodies from the ill-fated coach after moving it to platform no 4 at Nellore railway station.

R. Sudhakar, a branch manager of an insurance company at Visakhapatnam, boarded at Vijayawada. He said there were big uncontrollable flames and then smoke filled the entire coach. Nothing was visible and those who woke up early also found it hard to come out.

Doctors involved in rescue operations said that carbon monoxide in the smoke made the sleeping passengers immobile causing their eventual death in the fire. Even those who came out safely required oxygen to recover fully, said Dr. E. Sudhakar, a Government doctor.