Indian train fire leaves 9 people dead, 4 injured

At least nine people were charred to death while four others were injured when the train coach they were travelling in caught fire in Indias eastern state of Maharashtra, police said Wednesday. Police said fire broke out in three coaches of Mumbai-Dehradun Express train in Thane district of Maharashtra on Wednesday morning, adding, one coach of the train caught fire and later it spread to the other two when the passengers were sleeping in the wee hours. Police said the alert was sounded by a railway official who saw the train bogies on fire and thus later it (train) was halted at Gholvad railway station near Dahanu road where the fire was brought under control. The causes of the fire were not yet known, police said, adding, the nine dead include one woman and four men. They said the rest of the bodies were yet to be identified as they were beyond recognition. On Dec 28, at least 26 people were killed while 35 other were injured after several coaches of the train caught fire in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.