Four elderly pilgrims from Tamil Nadu travelling on a train from Agra to Coimbatore in non-AC coaches died allegedly due to extreme heat.
North Central Railway (Jhansi division) PRO Manoj Kumar Singh said on Tuesday that the exact cause of death of the passengers aboard the Kerala Express would be determined after the post-mortem report is available.
He said they were part of a group, which was on a religious tour. They had reached Agra from Varanasi, and from there, they were going to Coimbatore by the Kerala Express.
The four, including two women, were seated in S-8 and S-9 coaches, which are non-AC, and other passengers claimed that they died due to excessive heat.
They had complained of uneasiness on Monday evening and by the time the train reached Jhansi, three of them had died.
Another passenger, who was in a critical condition, died in a hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Pachayya (80), Balakrishnan (67), Dhanalakshmi (74), and Subbaraiyya (71), the PRO said.
Jhansi, in Bundelkhand, has been experiencing a severe heatwave in the recent weeks, with the maximum temperature hovering well above 45 degrees Celcius.
The PRO said that in view of extreme heat special arrangements were being made at railway stations for potable drinking water for travellers.
The bodies were being sent to Coimbatore in a special luggage van.
About the cause of death, Singh said, "The postmortem report is awaited. The exact cause will be known only after the report comes."
Several parts of the country continued to reel under sweltering heat on Tuesday with mercury crossing the 45-degree mark.
The maximum temperature hovered close to 45 degrees Celsius at most places in Punjab and Haryana.
Hisar in Haryana and Patiala in Punjab sizzled at 45.5 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.
Intense heat wave conditions also swept Bhiwani at 45.3 degrees Celsius, while Karnal and Narnaul recorded above normal temperature of 44 degrees Celsius each.
Common capital Chandigarh recorded a high of 43.9 degrees Celsius, up by five notches against normal.
In the national capital, Safdarjung observatory, reading of which is considered official for the city, recorded a high of 44.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average.
The weatherman, however, has forecast that the mercury will see a fall in the city.
Over the next few day, Delhi may experience thunderstorm or dust storm leading to slight rain, said a MeT department official.
The official said the maximum temperature is likely to be between 41 to 42 degrees Celsius on June 12 and 13; 43 degrees Celsius between June 14-16; and 39 degrees Celsius on June 17 in the city.
The maximum temperature in most parts of Rajasthan remained near and above 45 degrees Celsius.
Though isolated places in east Rajasthan recorded light rainfall and lightening, whereas the western parts of the state witnessed heat wave conditions.
Churu remained the hottest place in the desert state at 47.3 degrees Celsius followed by 46.2 degrees in Sriganganagar, 45.9 degrees in Kota and 45.1 degrees Celsius in Bikaner. Barmer and Jaisalmer also recorded maximum temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius.
Dry weather prevailed in most parts of Uttar Pradesh with state capital Lucknow recording a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal.
According to the meteorological department, rain or thunderstorm is very likely at isolated places in the state. It also warned that severe heatwave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places in the state.
Jhansi was the hottest place in the state where mercury soared to 48 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above the normal mark. Allahabad witnessed a high of 46 degree Celsius.
The temperature soared above 40 degrees Celsius in at least 13 places in Odisha.
While the entire western region sizzled under boiling heat, coastal and interior areas of the state also encountered unbearable weather conditions due to rising temperature coupled with high level of relative humidity.
Sambalpur in western Odisha turned out to be the hottest place in the state, recording 45 degrees Celsius followed by 44.4 degrees in neighbouring Hirakud and 44.2 degrees in Jharsuguda, the Meteorological Centre here said.
The state capital Bhubaneswar recorded a maximum temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius, up from 37.8 degrees Celsius measured on Monday, while relative humidity in the city stood at 87 per cent, it said.
The MeT has forecast heat wave conditions to prevail in many parts of the state for at least next three days.
People of Himachal Pradesh, however, got some respite from the scorching heat as light rains lashed isolated parts of the state.
Shimla and Kufri were lashed by 8 mm rains each followed by Bhuntar 3 mm, Manali 2 mm, Chamba and Baghi 1 mm each and Kangra recorded 0.1 mm rain.
Una was the hottest place at 44.8 degrees Celsius.
There were reports of mild snowfall on high peaks of Lahaul and Spiti.
Rain is also likely to occur in several parts of the state on Wednesday.
The Met Centre has issued yellow weather warning of thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds for plains, low and mid hills of the state on Wednesday.
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