The burning of a train (28-12-2010) Model IC3

During a train ride from Haifa to Tel Aviv a fire broke out, causing severe damage to two of the cars.

Preliminary laboratory examination found that a chessis beam has broken and over the fuel tank that was located underneath, until a massive fuel leak occoured.

Tests were conducted to characterize the materials from which the tank is made.
The possibility that the tank was damaged by a terrorist attack was rolled-out.
Electrical short cut failure was evaluated to be the cause of the fire event, but no evidence was found.

The possibility of a structural failure in the car beam led to damage to the tank was evaluated - a fault was found in the beam exactly in a position where the manufacturer of the car applied a local repair due to an old car accident.

The damage machanism that developed at the center of the repair is fatigue fracture - that existed prior to the burning incident of the car.
Passengers who were within the train during the event gave various testimonies - one of the testimonies surprisingly supports the description of the car before the fire.
After the beam fracture, it sank down and hit the fuel tank underneath.