india

Updated: Jun 11, 2019 17:32 IST

Four passengers on the Kerala Express headed home have died in Uttar Pradesh over the last 24 hours, a railway official said on Tuesday. The deaths, the official said, had been attributed by doctors to the extreme heat wave in north India.

They were part of a 67-member group travelling in two coaches, said Manoj Kumar Singh, railway spokesman in Jhansi.

The four passengers, who were returning from Agra, are from Coimbatore, one of Tamil Nadu’s biggest cities next only to state capital Chennai.

The four have been identified by railway officials as Bal Krishna Ramaswamy, 70, P Kamala, 76, Subbaraiyya, 80 and Dhiva Nai.

Their bodies would be handed over to their family members late Tuesday evening after post-mortem.

They complained of uneasiness and went unconscious when the train was near Gwalior. The train ticket examiner (TTE) informed the Jhansi control room of their condition and requested medical assistance.

“A team of doctors examined them on board the train at Jhansi; three of them had passed away by then and one passenger was rushed to hospital,” said Singh.

He said the cause of death appeared to be extreme heat.

Sub-inspector with Jhansi GRP, Vinay Sahu, who was among the first to respond to the distress call, said the passengers told him that the heat had become unbearable after the train left Agra and the elderly persons, who passed away, complained of breathlessness and uneasiness.

Railways have made arrangements to take the bodies to Coimbatore.



Heat wave is likely to continue for a couple of days in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh among others as per meteorological department.

In Uttar Pradesh, Prayagraj and Banda recorded 48.9 and 49.2 degree Celsius temperature on Monday.

In Rajasthan, Churu and Sriganganagar recorded 50.3 and 48.5 degree Celsius temperatures.