Blaze on train doused after 7-hour battle

Panic grips 2,000 residents in 5-km radius of site; locals help contain flames until firefighters arrive after 2 hours

- B ANBUSELVAN @Chennai

DAWN broke not with sunlight, but with thick plumes of grey smoke choking up their homes and stinging eyes for over 2,000 families living in Periyakup-pam, Manavala Nagar, and Varatharapuram in Tiruvallur, located 43 km from Chennai, on Sunday. Panic gripped these residents living in a five-kilometre radius of the site where a massive fire broke out in a diesel-laden freight train around 5 am. Fearing an explosion, they breathed a sigh of relief only after the huge flames were brought under control following a gruelling seven-hour effort around 2 pm.