'Ticketless' passenger lights cigarette in toilet, sets off fire alarm on Vande Bharat
PTC News Desk: A ticketless passenger was caught smoking secretly inside a toilet on Tirupati–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express, triggering a false fire alarm and halting the train on Wednesday, media reports said.
After passing Gudur in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati, the incident occurred in coach C - 13 of Train No. 20702, Tirupati- Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express.
According to the visuals shared by @TeluguScribe on X (previously Twitter), smoke can be seen engulfing the coach and passengers exiting the train.
The smoking prompted an automatic response from the toilet's aerosol fire extinguisher. The extinguisher released a cloud of powder-like stuff to put out the flames. The abrupt release of the powder led to panic among the passengers, who contacted the guard via an emergency phone connection inside the coach, causing the train to be halted at Manubolu around 5 p.m.
"An unauthorised 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," said an official from South Central Railway (SCR) Zone's Vijayawada Division.
The RPF rushed to the coach with a fire extinguisher, mistaking the false alert for a fire and breaking the toilet windows. The passenger who was smoking inside the restroom was removed by cops. The accused was later detained by police in Nellore for appropriate action under the Railway Act, according to the official, and the train resumed its journey.
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- With inputs from agencies
