Power bank explodes in AC coach of Mumbai-Howrah Mail near Odisha’s Bandamunda; no one hurt
A power bank left charging overnight blew up in an AC three-tier coach of the 12809 Mumbai-Howrah Mail near Bandamunda in Odisha early on Saturday, filling the coach with smoke. No injuries were reported.
A power bank exploded inside an air-conditioned coach of the Mumbai-Howrah Mail in Odisha in the early hours of Saturday, 24 October. Smoke filled the coach and passengers panicked. Railway staff controlled the fire within minutes, and no one was hurt, according to reports by Asianet Newsable and Bombay Samachar.
The incident has made the Howrah-Mumbai Mail one of the most searched topics in India over the weekend. Railway officials have since said they will tighten curbs on night-time use of charging points on long-distance trains.
What happened on the train
The incident took place at about 3.38 am on train number 12809, the down Mumbai-Howrah Mail, as it neared Bandamunda station in the Chakradharpur railway division. Both reports said a passenger on berth 6 of coach B-3, an AC three-tier coach and the 14th from the engine, had left a power bank charging and fallen asleep.
The device overheated and exploded, setting off a small fire. Smoke spread through the compartment and triggered the coach’s fire alarm. The train came to a halt on the down line near the Bandamunda electric shed.
Several passengers at first thought someone had pulled the emergency chain, Asianet Newsable reported. Officials later checked and found no sign that the chain had been pulled, according to Bombay Samachar.
Railway response and 15-minute halt
Railway Protection Force personnel and commercial staff reached the coach quickly. They used fire extinguishers to put out the fire and then cleared the smoke. The passenger’s berth was damaged, so the travelling ticket examiner moved him to a vacant berth so he could continue his journey.
After a halt of about 15 minutes, the train resumed its journey at 3.53 am. Neither report mentioned any injuries or further disruption to services on the route.
The senior divisional commercial manager of the Chakradharpur division confirmed the incident. He said it was caused by the device being left on charge overnight.
Charging points to be switched off at night
As a precaution, the railways plan to switch off charging points on trains late at night, and Asianet Newsable reported that this would be strictly enforced on mail and express trains. Passengers have also been told not to leave power banks or mobile phones charging while they sleep.
Bombay Samachar noted that the exact technical cause of the explosion had not been independently established. Overheating while charging unattended is the explanation officials have given so far.
For passengers, the advice is simple. Charge devices while awake, unplug them before sleeping, and alert staff at once if a device becomes hot, swells or gives off smoke. The episode on the Mumbai-Howrah Mail ended without harm, but it showed how quickly a small device can set off a fire alarm and stop a long-distance train in the middle of the night.
Sources
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