'Only those who fought survived'

By Asit Jolly
BBC correspondent in Ludhiana

Passengers in the last three coaches of the Amritsar-bound express awoke in compartments filled with a dense smoke and searing heat.

There has been no official comment on the cause of the fire

It was early in the morning and barely a few minutes since the train had left Ludhiana.

A few minutes after that, 38 people were dead or dying.

Returning to his forward post after a visit home, soldier Bikram Singh said he had just fallen asleep when the commotion woke him.

He barely managed to struggle from the blazing coach having inhaled dangerously high volumes of smoke.

He fell unconscious next to the railway track.

Anxious wait

Rescue squads later moved him and other injured passengers to a hospital in Ludhiana.

Many of those who managed to escape from the burning train were anxious about missing family members.

The Punjab Government says it will pay all fees of treatment

Sangeeta Devi was travelling to Amritsar with her husband Ravindra Singh and their two children.

Ms Devi suffered severe respiratory tract burns.

She remembered pushing her 11-year-old son, Nitin, towards the exit. That was the last she saw of him.

As the smoke filled the carriage, she grabbed another child who she thought was her nine-year-old daughter, Megha.

Crying, Ms Devi said: "When I came out of the coach, I saw it was not my daughter."

The couple, like several other families, are still waiting for news of their children.

Rescue teams believe there may be many women and children among the dead.

Passengers said it was complete chaos when the fire broke out and only those who were able to fight their way out made it to safety.

Compensation

None of the surviving passengers had a clear notion of what started the fire.

Among the many possibilities are an electrical short-circuit, a kerosene stove blaze or a carelessly thrown cigarette end.

Railway authorities will not comment officially.

They say it will only be possible to offer a reason after the affected coaches have been examined by forensic experts.

Indian railway minister, Nitish Kumar, who visited the injured passengers at Ludhiana hospital, also refused to comment on the cause of the fire.

He has, however, announced cash compensation for the families of the dead and injured passengers.

Punjab's chief minister, Amarinder Singh, who also visited the hospital, said his government would bear the full cost of treating the injured passengers.