Ludhiana: Preliminary examination of the burnt coaches of Frontier Mail showed that the fire was caused by bursting of a stove in S-4 coach - the worst-affected three tier sleeper reserved compartment, Member Safety of the Railway Board H C Gupta said ruling out sabotage.

He told reporters that forensic experts examined the coaches on two theories - electric short circuit and external reasons and found pieces of a stove in the S-4 coach.

Gupta ruled out electric short-circuiting claiming that electrical devices were intact. "There is no intentional sabotage", he added.

He said the iron rods in the windows near the bursted stove were also tilted due to the impact of the explosion. May be somebody tried to make his early morning cup of tea, he told a questioner.

The train had stopped at Ludhiana at 3.45 am and no passenger had reported any electrical malfunctioning, Gupta said adding all indications regarding cause of the fire were towards the bursting of the stove.

PTI