Thirty people were feared dead Monday in a fire on board a passenger train heading to the city of Chennai in southern India, a railways ministry spokesman said.

"Thirty people are feared dead. I am told by our officials on the scene that rescuers can see the bodies inside the coach but they can't get to them yet," railways ministry spokeswoman Chandralekha Mukherjee told AFP.

One coach had been completely gutted, with rescuers struggling with the fierce temperatures inside the mostly metal carriage. Gas cutters were being used to cut open wider access for the emergency services. Nepalnews.com