20 peoples killed in Gouthami Express fire in AP....

At least 20 passengers were charred to death and six injured when the speeding Secunderabad-Kakinada Gouthami Express train caught fire in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh early on Friday morning.

The fire broke out in one of the sleeper coaches at 0115 hours near Kesamudram railway station, about 200 kms from Hyderabad, and soon spread to four other bogies leading to heavy casualties, Chief PRO of South Central Railways P Krishnaiah said.

The tragedy struck when the passengers were fast asleep making it impossible for many of them to escape from the blaze.

With the train moving at a speed of 100 kms per hour, the fire, which broke out in S-9 coach spread rapidly billowing out large plumes of smoke.

Such was the impact of the raging fire that the bodies of some of the passengers were charred beyond recognition, making it difficult for authorities to ascertain the exact number of casualties. Some passengers died due to suffocation.

While railway officials were tight-lipped about the death toll, Warangal district Superintendent of Police V C Sajjanar said at least 20 passengers have perished in the fire.

Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who visited the accident site, put the death toll between 15-20.

As forensic experts inspected the badly-mangled coaches, there are fears that the toll may go up as a heap of skeletons, skulls and burnt flesh still remained to be cleared.