At least 26 people, including two children, have died after a fire broke out on a train in India, reports say.
The blaze
engulfed a carriage of the Nanded-Bangalore Express while it was
travelling through southern Andhra Pradesh state, rail officials said.
Police said many of the dead had been trapped inside and suffocated by thick black smoke filling the train.An electrical short circuit may be to blame, officials say, and an inquiry is under way.
The fire broke
out in an air-conditioned carriage around 03:30 local time (22:00 GMT)
near the small town of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh.
More than 60
passengers are thought to have been inside the carriage, and the doors
were locked as is customary at night, reports said.
Some people
managed to break windows and jump from the carriage, but firefighters
discovered many bodies heaped up near the doors.
Identifying the dead will take time because many bodies were charred beyond recognition, rescue workers said.
