A routine train journey took an unexpected turn when an unauthorised passenger was caught smoking surreptitiously inside the train’s toilet. The incident happened on the Tirupati-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express on the C-13 coach on Wednesday, August 9.
The smoking triggered an automatic response from an aerosol fire extinguisher installed in the toilet. The extinguisher deployed a cloud of powder-like substance intended to put out fire. The sudden release of the powder caused a panic among the passengers in the coach who alerted the guard.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) escort staff sprang into action using fire extinguishers as they feared a fire had erupted. The train was brought to a halt at Manubolu station to contain the situation. The passengers in the C-13 coach broke open the window glass of the toilet from outside to rescue the passenger.
“An unauthorised passenger boarded the train from Tirupati and locked himself in the toilet of the C-13 coach. He smoked inside the toilet which resulted in the automatic activation of an aerosol fire extinguisher inside the toilet,” an official from South Central Railway (SCR) Zone’s Vijayawada Division said in a press release, according to a report on NDTV.
The RPF personnel detained the passenger in Nellore and said that action would be taken based on the Railways Act. The Vande Bharat Express was delayed by about 25 minutes due to the incident.