1 dead, 9 injured in explosion at Chennai railway station

CHENNAI: One passenger died and nine others were injured in a bomb blast at an express train stationed at the Chennai Central station on Thursday. The blast took place at around 7.30am on the Guwahati-Bangalore Express. Police said it was a terror attack while it was the train was at platform no 9. Police identified the dead as Swathi, 22, from Guntur. The condition of a few passengers is serious. Investigators who visited the spot said it appeared to have been two explosions, below seat number 70 of S4 compartment and seat number 30 of S5 compartment. The train had reached the Chennai Central railway station at 7.05am at Platform No 9 and some passengers had got down from the train. Few others going further towards Guwahati stayed back in the train which was to leave the station at 7.50am. Witnesses told police the bomb exploded with a huge noise. On information, Railway Protection Force personnel and Government Railway Police rushed the injured to the nearby Government General Hospital (GGH). Police personnel cordoned off the platform and called on for the experts to collect the samples of debris from the train. The other passengers were evacuated from the train safely. An ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh was announced for the woman who was killed in the blast. Rs 25,000 was announced for two who were grievously injured and Rs 5,000 for 7 people with minor injuries. "The matter is still under investigation. The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained. The services at the station will be resumed in an hour," according to Tamil Nadu DGP. Railways has set up a helpline number, 044-25357398, for inquiries.   TOI