Nellore: Panic in Tirupati–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express after cigarette smoking triggers false alarm

Nellore: Panic gripped passengers on board Tirupati–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express after a powder-like smoke filled up the coaches when an unauthorized passenger lit a cigarette in the toilet.

The smoking activity on the train triggered a false fire alarm and halted the train for some time on Wednesday evening.

The incident happened in coach C – 13 on Train No. 20702 after passing Gudur station in Andhra Pradesh.

"An unauthorized passenger boarded the train from Tirupati and locked himself in the toilet of the C-13 coach. The passenger smoked inside the toilet which resulted in automatic activation of the aerosol fire extinguisher present inside the toilet," South Central Railway (SCR) Zone’s Vijayawada Division said in a statement.

Following the false alarm, the aerosol fire extinguisher started emitting powder-like smoke to douse the flame and in that process, the passengers in that coach panicked.

Later, they relayed the information to the train’s guard through an emergency phone connection inside the coach, leading to the train getting halted at Manubolu around 5 p.m.

Mistaking the false alarm to be a fire accident, the Railway police rushed to the coach with a fire extinguisher and broke the toilet’s window to save the passenger who was smoking inside it.

Railway police detained him at Nellore for appropriate action as per the Railway Act. The train resumed after some time.