United News of Bangladesh

A fire broke out in a moving train in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram on Thursday morning, damaging several coaches. The incident occurred around 7:30am near the BMA Gate area in Bhatiari, close to Bhatiari Railway Station, said witnesses. At least three coaches were completely gutted, while another was partially damaged, said Kumira Fire Service Sub-Station Officer Ahsan Ali. He said the blaze has been fully extinguished and no casualties were reported. Firefighters from Kumira Fire Service Station rushed to the spot with two units and brought the blaze under control. Witnesses said the fire broke out in a coach of Dhaka-bound train Chattrala Express which had left Chattogram earlier in the morning. Panic spread among passengers but many managed to get off quickly as the train was moving slowly at the time. Officials said the fire originated in the train’s power car and later spread to an adjacent air-conditioned coach. Train services between Chattogram and Dhaka, as well as Sylhet, were temporarily disrupted following the incident. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Railway has formed a probe committee to investigate the cause of the fire.

An eight-month-old baby died when a couple jumped off a moving train after a fire broke out in  a bogie in Lohagara upazila of Chattogram on Tuesday night. The deceased was identified as Md Hamadan, son of Abdur Razzak of Cox’s Bazar district. The fire broke out in a bogie of Cox’s Bazar-bound ‘Probal Express’ train around 7:45 pm when it reached Podua under Lohagara upazila, creating panic among passengers. At one stage, Abdur Razzak, 26 and his wife Liza Akter, 20 along with their 8-month-old baby jumped off the moving train, leaving all injured. They were taken to Lohagara Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared the baby dead, said Zahed Hossain, sub-inspector of Lohagara Police Station. 13 SSC examinee fail to sit for exam in Cox’s Bazar; threaten suicide Abdur Razzak along with his wife and child went to Gunagari in Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram district to visit his in-law’s house and they met the tragic incident while returning to their home. Lohagara Station Master Didar Hossain, said the fire was extinguished within 15 to 20 minutes and the fire might have originated from an electric short circuit.  

The Bangladesh Railway authority formed two separate committees to probe the fire incident on intercity train Parabat Express at Kamalganj upazila in Moulvibazar. “Each committee has four members and they have been asked to submit reports within three days after investigating the cause of fire and damages from it,” said Jahangir Hossain, General Manager of Bangladesh Railway East Zone. Read: Fire on moving train: Dhaka-Sylhet rail communication restored after 3 hours He said one of the committees is divisional and another is zonal. “The two committees will be led by Chief Commercial Manager of Bangladesh Railway East Zone and Chief Mechanical Engineer of Bangladesh Railway East Zone,” he added. The fire broke out at the power car or restaurant car of the moving train around 12:45 pm when it reached near Shamshernagar Air Base and disrupted the rail communication on Dhaka-Sylhet route on Saturday. After more than three hours it was restored at 4 pm as the inter-city train “Parabat Express” left for Sylhet. At first the locals tried to douse the flames and later firefighting units of Kamalganj, Moulvibazar, Srimangal and Kulaura rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze. Read: Fire breaks out at moving ferry, doused quickly Abu Bakkar, sub-inspector of Shamshernagar Railway Station, said three compartments of the train were gutted during the fire. Fortunately, no casualties were reported as the authorities concerned managed to stop the train in time.