At least 10 people were killed and more than 20 others were injured after a parked tourist train caught fire on Saturday morning in the Madurai district of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, NDTV reported.

The fire broke out at 5:15 a.m. and was brought under control two hours later, a Southern Railway release said.

The Southern Railway said that an "illegal gas cylinder" on board was to blame for the fire.

"The passengers in the private coach have illegally smuggled a gas cylinder and this caused the fire. Many passengers got out of the coach on noticing the fire," the Southern Railway explained.