Kerala train fire: 3 killed, many injured; terror angle not ruled out

Three people were killed and many suffered burn injuries after an unidentified person poured inflammable oil on co-passengers and set them afire inside the D-1 coach of the Alapuzha-Kannur Express around 9.50 pm on Sunday after the train left Kozhikode railway station (north Kerala), the police said.

Three bodies, including that of an infant, were later recovered from the railway tracks as police suspect that they may have jumped out of the moving train in panic. Two of the deceased have been identified as Toufiq and Rehana.

The police did not rule out a terror angle as they recovered a bag from the tracks that had another bottle of petrol and two mobile phones.

According to an eye-witness, soon after the train stopped on a bridge along the Korapuzha river, a man in his thirties jumped out of it and fled on a bike that was waiting for him.

The police have recovered the assailant’s visuals recovered from a CCTV footage of a nearby house and suspected the incident to be a well-planned attack.

One of those injured told the police that the unidentified person took out a bottle carrying an inflammable substance and sprayed it on co-passengers, and before they could react he lit the fire and fled.

The incident occurred between Elathur and Koyilandi railway stations.

The Kozhikode police commissioner is likely to hold a press conference later in the day. There are also reports that central intelligence agencies have sought details of the incident.