Archers escape unhurt in railway fire incident

Ten members of the Madhya Pradesh archery contingent escaped unhurt after their coach of the Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express caught fire on Saturday.

The train''s C-5 bogie caught fire near Kasro railway station.

The train was coming from the national capital and all passengers, including the 10 members of the archery contingent, were evacuated and shifted to another compartment.

"The fire spread out fast from near the bathroom and all our equipment and luggage were burnt. Thankfully, we all are evacuated and safe," recurve women archer Amey Rai said.

To ensure that their participation at the Nationals is not affected, the Archery Association of India (AAI) has arranged the equipment and clothes for the archers.

"We are really thankful to the president Arjun Munda sir and the state government and other officials for readily arranging our equipment and other stuff," she said.

Coach Ravi Pradhan said they were all shaken by the incident but everyone supported them and they are ready for the tournament.

The members who survived the incident are Amit Patel, Amit Kumar, Harsh Sindhiya, Rohit Rajat (men's recurve); Amey Rai, Vitasa Thakur, Sonya Thakur, Dipika Pandey (women's recurve); Ravi Pradhan and Ashok Kumar Yadav (coaches).

The 41st National Archery Championship is underway at the Survey of India ground and will conclude on March 16.