New Delhi: A detailed report on the Godhra carnage, including names of 62 passengers of whom 59 died in the fire in Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002 was tabled by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar in the Lok Sabha.

The task of identifying the passengers was a "massive exercise", the report said.

As many as 150 Railway officials worked round the clock for days together, travelling to even far-flung and remote places to contact either the passengers or their family members or neighbours, the report said.

"Despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to contact or trace some of the persons or their relatives or neighbours on account of various reasons, such as incorrect address or illegible address. In some cases, neighbours were unable to give any information," it said.

On the day of the incident, the report said, "Even the reserved coaches were jam packed to such an extent that the ticket checking staff could not enter some of the coaches for checking the passengers. A remark to this effect has been made on the chart of coach number S-6 by the ticket checking staff.

"In view of the situation, despite best efforts put in by the Railways it has not been possible to identify fully who was travelling in which coach or berth and how many were travelling in the reserved coaches," the report said.

The report said 58 bodies or remains of burnt out persons were extracted from the S-6 coach and police authorities duly made 'panchnamas'.

The identified bodies were handed over to the next of kin by state government officials.

Four persons were grievously injured, out of which one later succumbed, bringing the number of deaths to 59, the report said.

It said the driver of the train as well as ASI/GRP at Godhra lodged a first information report (FIR) with police.

Out of the 59 dead, 19 remained unidentified. The state government is conducting forensic tests to determine the identity of those 19 dead, the report said.

So far, 62 claims have been lodged in Railway claims tribunal Ahmedabad, out of which two were found to be duplicate and withdrawn, leaving 60 claims to be settled, the report said.

Out of the 60 claims, 48 pertains to death, nine to injuries and three to missing persons. Four claims, all for dead, have been decreed and paid to dependents of the deceased, it said.

PTI