Staff Correspondent

Benapole Express, an inter-district passenger train, was set ablaze by unidentified miscreants in the Gopibagh area of the capital on Friday evening, resulting in at least one fatality and causing injuries to numerous others.

The actual number of casualties was feared to be higher but could not be ascertained immediately.

According to eyewitnesses, the train was en route to Kamalapur railway station from Benapole. The fire erupted when the train reached the Gopibagh railway station.

Anwarul Islam, media officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD), told the media that they received reports of the fire at 9:05pm on Friday. Four units of the fire service were actively engaged in extinguishing the fire and rescuing passengers trapped within the train.

Miscreants set fire to Kamalapur-bound Benapole Express in the capital’s Gopibagh on Friday. Fire Service and civil volunteers brought the fire under control around 10:20pm.

The Daily Sun found that at least four compartments of the train have been engulfed in flames. While many passengers managed to evacuate quickly, some struggled to rescue their loved ones from the burning train, resulting in distressing scenes of people crying aloud.

Our correspondent saw a hand of a burnt body hanging out of the train window. It was evident that the individual, a woman, suffered fatal burns on the spot.

The train comprised more than seven compartments, and after the fire broke out, the train's loco master disconnected the engine bogey from the other compartments, removing it from the scene.

Masud Sarwar, manager of Kamalapur Railway station, informed the Daily Sun that the train had departed from Benapole station in Jashore at 1pm and was scheduled to arrive at 8:45pm.

"We presume that the train was set on fire sometime after 8:30pm. Following the incident, I am not certain whether any trains will depart from Dhaka to Jashore during the night," he said.

Fire fighters and the volunteers brought the fire under control at 10:20pm on Friday.