Smoke on Tirupati-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express triggers panic

The train was stopped at Manubolu after the loco pilot was alerted by the staff. Passengers de-boarded the train in panic. The railway staff found smoke emanating from the toilet in one of the coaches. Railway officials said a passenger had thrown a burning cigarette and some waste plastic material had caught fire. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) identified the man and detained him. He was said to be travelling without a ticket. The train had to be stopped for nearly half an hour due to the incident. According to Divisional Railway Manager Vijayawada, a passenger smoked inside the toilet of C13. "Fire alarm auto activated on detection of smoke. The said passenger is detained by the RPF at Nellore. Appropriate action would be taken," he tweeted. --IANS ms/vd

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