Passengers aboard Train No. 662 panicked and dispersed in all directions when the engine of their train caught fire in the middle of the journey. The incident happened on Wednesday and no casualties have been reported as yet.

It was the usual early morning departure from Mettupalayam for Train No. 662 towards Ooty. Carrying 193 people, this passenger train was slowly making its way through the picturesque Nilgiri Mountain. The happy journey turned chaotic when the engine of the train caught fire when it was near the Coonoor level crossing. Passengers aboard ran helter-skelter when news spread about the engine fire. There was, understandably, a lot of panic and tension among the travelers. People around the place tried to douse the fire with buckets of water.

To add to the chaos, traffic was swelling on the Coonoor highway as the train stopped right across the level crossing. The issue was finally sorted when authorities called for a diesel engine to tow away the train to Ooty. This is not the first time a mishap like this has happened on this train. The coal engine of this train easily gets over-heated which has led to many instances like this in the past.

It has to be noted that train service in this route was stopped in September 2009. It was only in May 2010 that this train resumed duty due to requests from tourists and locals.