Massive fire on crude oil train near Tiruvallur disrupts rail services in Chennai
Thousands affected
Chennai: Train services in the Chennai–Arakkonam section were thrown into chaos early Sunday morning after a massive fire broke out on a freight train carrying crude oil near Tiruvallur, about 43 km from Chennai Central. Thousands of passengers were affected as both suburban and long-distance train operations were suspended or cancelled.
The incident occurred around 4:45 am when a 45-coach freight train transporting crude oil from Ennore to Jolarpettai caught fire while passing through the Tiruvallur–Egattur section. Preliminary reports suggest the derailment of two wagons may have sparked the blaze, though the exact cause is still under investigation.
The fire quickly engulfed four coaches and spread further, producing towering flames and thick plumes of black smoke. Panic ensued among nearby residents, who were promptly evacuated as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far.
Fire and Rescue Services were immediately deployed to the scene. Five coaches were detached from the burning rake to prevent the fire from spreading. Restoration efforts are currently underway.
Tiruvallur District Collector M. Prathap visited the site and supervised the evacuation and firefighting measures. Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Arakkonam unit, have also been pressed into service to assist with relief and containment operations.
Rail operations bore the brunt of the incident:
All suburban trains between Chennai and Arakkonam were suspended from 5 am.
Eight inbound express trains, including the Mangaluru Mail, Nilgiri Express, and Coimbatore Intercity, were short-terminated at stations between Arakkonam and Katpadi.
Eight outbound express trains from Chennai Central, including the Chennai–Mysuru Shatabdi and Chennai–Bengaluru Double Decker, were fully cancelled.
Four trains were diverted via Gudur and Renigunta routes.
Southern Railway officials have advised passengers to contact helpline numbers 044-25354151 and 044-24354995 for assistance and updated travel information.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
