RailEnquiry

Seventeen persons are still missing in yesterday’s Tamil Nadu express fire accident, while rescue workers recovered a total 32 charred bodies from the burnt S-11 coach. Railway authorities said the details of 17 persons who boarded the coach at different points are still not known. The accident occurred when a bogey of the Chennai bound Tamil Nadu Express caught fire between Nellore and Vedaypalem on the Vijayawada-Gudur section in the early hours of yesterday. Our correspondent reports that 28 passengers who sustained injuries are receiving medical aid at different hospitals in Nellore. She adds that four women are among the 17 passengers still not traceable. After making lot of efforts to identify the bodies, railway authorities have declared that the 17 passengers are missing. Six of them boarded the train in New Delhi and four at Vijayawada . Of the rest, three boarded the train at Jhansi ,two from Bhopal and one each from Nagpur and Agra . All of them were supposed to travel till Chennai. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed in the ill fated coach as rescue workers could not get some burnt bodies even intact. The agony of the relatives who came for identification to Nellore Government Hospital is touching. Forensic experts are also being consulted to find a way out for recognition of bodies which are completely burnt. Now the task before the authorities is to find ways and means for recognition of bodies and how to establish the identity of these missing passengers.