New Delhi : The government Monday announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh each for the families of the dead in the Tamil Nadu Express blaze, in which some 35 people were burnt alive.

Railway Minister Mukul Roy also announced that Rs.1 lakh would be given to those seriously injured in the fire that broke out in a coach of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore early Monday.

A railway spokesperson said that Roy also announced a compensation of Rs.25,000 for each of the mildly injured. Roy, who is in Kolkata, told a TV channel that rescue operation was on and that he would leave for the accident site in the afternoon. The fire broke out between 4.30 a.m. and 4.45 a.m.

in the S-11 compartment minutes after the Chennai-bound train left Nellore railway station in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, about 450 km from Hyderabad.

The cause of the fire is being ascertained while it is suspected that the blaze may have been caused by an electric short circuit. Commissioner for railway safety of the South Central circle D.K. Singh is leading a team to investigate the accident, sources in the ministry said.