A fire broke out in two air-conditioned coaches of the Tata Nagar–Ernakulam Express (Train No. 18189) at Duvvada in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district during the early hours of Monday.

Preliminary reports said the incident occurred around 1.30 am, shortly after the train crossed Duvvada. A 70-year-old man was reported to have died after being charred in the blaze.

The fire reportedly originated in the B1 and M2 AC coaches, which were located next to the pantry car. Loco pilots first noticed flames near a railway point close to Yelamanchili and alerted authorities.

Before fire services could reach the spot, the flames spread rapidly, completely gutting both AC coaches. Rail traffic on the busy Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada section was temporarily halted, causing significant delays to several trains.

Passengers from the affected coaches were later evacuated and transported to Samarlakota in APSRTC buses. At Samarlakota, two replacement AC coaches were attached to the train, after which the Tata Nagar–Ernakulam Express resumed its onward journey to Ernakulam.