Use of gas cutters to rescue trapped passengers from the mangled coaches of the Indore-Patna Express was minimised as they produce excessive heat and the gases they release can cause suffocation. “We have been instructed to minimise their use,” Pancharatan Singh, an official of the Kanpur Small Arms Factory, said at the accident spot. He is leading a team of eight to 10 welders from the factory equipped with two gas cutters to bring out trapped people from the train. Mr. Singh said the National Disaster Response Force was using cold cutters to cut open the steel frame of the coaches. “We have seen a number of people alive inside the bogies.” — PTI
