Lucknow, Aug 26 (PTI) Bodies of nine pilgrims who met with a tragic end on Saturday when a fire broke out inside a stationary train compartment at the Madurai railway station in Tamil Nadu, will be airlifted to Lucknow, an official said.

In a statement issued here, Relief Commissioner Naveen Kumar G S said, "All bodies will be sent to Chennai, and then airlifted in a direct flight to Lucknow. Eighteen passengers will come by the same flight to Lucknow. IRCTC is trying to put other passengers together via Delhi flight to Lucknow. The bodies have been embalmed."

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The nine pilgrims, bound for Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, died when the fire broke out inside the stationary train compartment in the early hours of Saturday, the Southern Railway said.

It also said a gas cylinder "illegally" taken inside the coach led to the blaze.

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Various angles, including a possible gas leak, having triggered the blaze are being probed.

The relief commissioner said others have been accommodated in temporary shelters and arrangements are on to send them back home.

The victims embarked on the pilgrimage from Lucknow last week in a private party coach, and most of them hailed from the Uttar Pradesh capital and its nearby areas.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)