Wooden sleepers gutted

Abohar, May 6

Hundreds of wooden sleepers were gutted in a fire that broke out near the railway staff colony here this afternoon. The sleepers had been removed during the upgrade of the rail track to facilitate trains running with 100-km per hour speed. The Railways have no fire-fighting system here, so the officials informed the municipal fire brigade. A message was also flashed to the fire brigade in Fazilka, 32 km from here, but witnesses said vehicles reached there after an hour.

The Railways, state government officials and the police were assisted by the residents in dousing fire using available resources, but it reportedly took about two hours to control the flames. Since no electricity wires pass through the complex, the possibilities of short-circuit were ruled out, but the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. — OC