Blast at railway station near Madurai, two dead

Chennai: Two people were killed and nine injured in a blast at Cholavandan Railway Station on Tuesday evening, about 30 kilometers from Madurai.

The blast occurred at 1805 hrs IST at platform No. 2 when a parcel containing fireworks exploded soon after it was offloaded from the Mayiladuthurai-Tirunelveli passenger train.

The roof of the railway station collapsed due to the impact of the explosion.

"Two people died in the explosion. The bomb squad is carrying out further investigation. The platform was empty when the explosion took place. A train was expected shortly before the explosion took place," Madurai DIG P Balasubramaniam told CNN-IBN.

Police said that while one of the victims used was a vendor at the platform selling betel-nuts and fruits, the identity of the other could not be ascertained.

The injured persons included four railway staff. Six of the injured persons were admitted to the government Rajaji Hospital and three to a private hospital.

Soon after the blast police seized another parcel containing similar type of firecrackers.

However, Madurai District Collector Madhuri N Madiniwana told CNN-IBN that the nature of the blast was not yet known.

(With inputs from PTI)