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The Eastern and Oriental Express
The front carriage of the Eastern and Oriental Express caught fire shortly after leaving Kanchanaburi. Photograph: Mark Eveleigh / Alamy/Alamy
The front carriage of the Eastern and Oriental Express caught fire shortly after leaving Kanchanaburi. Photograph: Mark Eveleigh / Alamy/Alamy

Fire breaks out on Eastern & Oriental Express in Thailand

This article is more than 9 years old
Front locomotive of tourist train catches fire shortly after leaving town of Kanchanaburi, but no one is injured

A fire broke out on a luxury tourist train in Thailand on Sunday in a region known for inspiring the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, but no one was injured, police said.

The front locomotive of the plush Eastern and Oriental Express caught fire shortly after leaving Kanchanaburi, a town in western Thailand famous for its second world war-era bridge.

“Around 160 tourists were on board and nobody was injured,” said local police officer Sukon Ras-Iam, adding that the driver disconnected the burning locomotive after spotting the flames.

It took firefighters around 30 minutes to put out the blaze before the train resumed its journey, said Sukon.

Police investigations are under way to determine the cause of the fire.

The Eastern and Oriental Express is run by the British hotel and leisure firm Belmond, formerly known as Orient-Express Hotels.

The train is due to travel onwards to Malaysia and Singapore after departing Thailand.

Tourists flock to Kanchanaburi to see a bridge spanning the River Kwai that was constructed by prisoners of war who endured brutal treatment at the hands of their Japanese overlords.

Their experiences building what came to be known as the Death Railway were later captured in 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai.

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