ADONI: Sarana Basava guided 21 passengers to safety but could not save his wife and father-in-law as flames and thick smoke engulfed the air-conditioned compartment of Bangalore City - Nanded express train in Anantapur district in the early hours of Saturday.

"The tragedy will continue to haunt me. I lost my wife and father-in-law in the fire mishap. I tried my best to save them, but they were charred to death," recollects Sarana Basava, a resident of APSRTC colony in Adoni town of Kurnool district.

Sarana accompanied his wife Sarva Mangala, father-in-law Basava Raju and mother-in-law Annapurnamma to Bangalore last week to fix marriage of brother-in-law Prasanna Kumar, a software engineer. They were all returning to Adoni when the tragedy struck. Sarva Mangala, a teacher in Kannada primary school at Kautala village, and Basava Raju, a retired headmaster, died in the accident. Sarana and Annapurnamma escaped unhurt.

Relatives and friends gathered at their residence in Adoni as the news of the train mishap spread in the town. Leaders of teachers unions too paid condolences.