A major fire broke out in a parcel bogey of the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Malabar Express train on Sunday. A major tragedy was averted as a passenger stopped the train by pulling the chain seeing the fire. The incident happened at around 7:40 am in morning when the coach behind the engine caught fire in Edava, a place between Varkala and Paravur stations.

As the fire was confined to the parcel van, the train was detained at the spot. Two fire force units arrived and brought the fire under control. All passengers were evacuated and there's no report of casualty. Meanwhile, other trains were temporarily halted. 

According to preliminary assessment, it was suspected that one of the bikes in the parcel coach could have triggered the fire. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.