An express train derailed in southern Pakistan – according to the authorities, 30 people were killed. It is unclear whether a mechanical error or a stop is the cause. The railway minister announced an investigation.
At least 30 people died and 60 others were injured in a train crash in southern Pakistan. The number of victims could still increase, however, since the rescue work had not yet been completed, the police said. Several of the injured were also in mortal danger.
Passengers had to be freed from the overturned wagons, as could be seen in television images. Local residents provided food and water to injured and shocked passengers before they were taken to the hospital.
State of emergency declared in clinics
According to Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho, the railway representative responsible for rail transport in the region, ten wagons derailed near the town of Nawabshah in the province of Sindh. The “Hazara Express” with 1,000 people on board was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when the accident happened. The route has been closed.
Pakistani Railways Minister Khaja Saad Rafiq said the accident could be due to mechanical failure or the result of sabotage. According to him, a state of emergency was declared in the local hospitals. He announced an investigation into the accident.
Serious train collision in summer 2021
Accidents and derailments are common in Pakistan’s outdated railway system. Some of the signaling systems are from the colonial era and have not been modernized. More than 80 million passengers are transported annually over the 7,500 kilometers of rail network.
In June 2021, two trains collided near Daharki, also in Sindh province. 65 people died and 150 others were injured. At that time, an express train crashed onto the track on the opposite side, and a second passenger train crashed into the wreckage about a minute later.