Ladhowal: Railway Minister Nitish Kumar along with Railway Board chairman I M S Rana will reach Ladhowal on May 15 afternoon to take stock of the situation following the Frontier Mail tragedy that killed 38 people, a senior Railway official said.

"They are expected to reach here by 15:00 hours (IST)," Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway, Ferozepur Division, S C Punia said.

Asked if the cause of fire in the Amritsar-bound train had been ascertained, Punia said the first priority of rail authorities was rescue operations.

"We are investigating the cause which led to this major fire tragedy," he said.

He said Chief Operations Manager, Northern Railways, L R Thapar, who was also travelling in one of the last coaches in the Frontier Mail, had co-ordinated the early rescue operations.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Justice (Retd) O P Verma is also scheduled to reach the site of the tragedy, official sources said in Ludhiana.

Verma has sounded an alert in Chandigarh hospitals and asked them to be prepared to receive any injured from Ludhiana.

Meanwhile, Northern Railways have rushed a relief train carrying a team of doctors and paramedics equipped with medical aid and food to Ladhowal.

PTI