Chennai: A fire erupted in a stationary train compartment at Tamil Nadu's Madurai railway station early this morning, resulting in the loss of at least 10 lives and leaving over 20 individuals injured, media reports said.

According to the Southern Railway, the fire was caused by an "illegal gas cylinder" present in the train compartment.

The passengers in the compartment, designated as a "private party coach," had recently arrived from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Madurai district collector MS Sangeetha, who rushed to the scene, confirmed the 10 casualties in the fire accident.

Twenty injured passengers have been admitted to a hospital for medical treatment.

The fire, which began at 5:15 am today, was finally brought under control by fire service personnel around 7:15 am.

The Southern Railway said that the private party coach had been attached to train no. 16730 (Punalur-Madurai Exp) at Nagercoil Junction the previous day (Aug 25).

Subsequently, the coach was detached and stationed at the Madurai Stabling line.

"This is a private party coach that was attached at Nagercoil Junction yesterday (Aug 25) by train no. 16730 (Punalur-Madurai Exp). Party coach was detached and kept at Madurai Stabling line. The passengers in the private party coach have....smuggled gas cylinder and this has caused the fire," the release said.

The passengers, who had initially boarded the coach in Lucknow on August 17, were scheduled to return to Chennai on Sunday before proceeding back to Lucknow.

The fire ignited while the coach was parked, as some members of the party recklessly used the unauthorized gas cylinder.

Most passengers were able to evacuate the coach upon noticing the fire, with some individuals having already disembarked at the platform before the detachment of the coach.

To assist the affected families, an amount of Rs 10 lakh is being provided for each individual who lost their life.

The Southern Railway has also established two helpline numbers (9360552608 and 8015681915) for information related to the fire incident and casualties.

The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers associated with mishandling inflammable materials, and it underscores the importance of adhering to safety protocols to prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future.