How A Railways Gateman Detected Smoke And Averted A Big Tragedy In Agra
NDTV
The train was heading to Seoni in Madhya Pradesh from Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab when the fire broke out near Bhandai, about 10 km from Agra.
Had gateman Yashpal Singh, a retired army officer posted at one of the railway level crossings near Bhandai station, not acted in the nick of time and alerted his higher-ups, the fire in Patalkot Express coaches would have turned into a major tragedy on Wednesday afternoon.
"When the train was passing through the gate at 3.35 pm before reaching Bhandai station, Singh detected smoke coming out from the 4th coach from the engine. No one inside the train was aware of it," a source, who is privy to internal communication in the Agra division, told PTI.
"Yashpal immediately called Haridas, the deputy station superintendent of Bhandai station, who further informed the control room," he added.