<img src="https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&amp;c2=6035250&amp;cv=2.0&amp;cj=1&amp;cs_ucfr=0&amp;comscorekw=Pakistan%2CSouth+and+central+Asia%2CWorld+news%2CTrain+crashes%2CRail+transport"> Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Skip to navigation
Dozens killed after two trains collide in Pakistan – video report

Pakistan train crash: dozens killed as express services collide

This article is more than 2 years old

At least 45 people killed and up to 100 passengers injured after derailing of Millat Express

At least 45 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a pre-dawn crash between two express trains in Pakistan, as rescuers and villagers worked throughout the day to pull survivors and the dead from the crumpled carriages.

Cries for help pierced the night as passengers climbed out of overturned or crushed rail cars and local people rushed to the scene in the district of Ghotki, in the southern province of Sindh. Heavy machinery arrived around 15 hours after the crash to cut open carriages to rescue people still believed to be trapped, though hopes were fading for survivors. The military deployed troops and helicopters to assist.

The Millat Express train had derailed at about 3.30am and the Sir Syed Express train hit it minutes later, said Usman Abdullah, a deputy commissioner of Ghotki. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the derailment, and the driver of the second train said he had braked when he had seen the derailed train but had not had time to avoid the collision.

“The challenge for us is to quickly rescue those passengers who are still trapped in the wreckage,” said Umar Tufail, a police chief in the district. The death toll steadily rose through the day, reaching at least 45, according to Abdullah.

He said the chances of finding survivors was diminishing but lighting had been brought in to allow rescuers to work into the night if needed.

Officials said more than 100 passengers were injured, and those with critical injuries would be brought by helicopter to a nearby city’s hospital. According to railway officials, about 1,100 passengers were onboard the two trains.

map

Azam Swati, the minister for railways, said engineers and other experts were trying to determine what had caused the collision, and all aspects would be examined, including the possibility of sabotage.

According to local media, some of the passengers were travelling on the Millat Express to attend a wedding party. It was unclear whether they were among the dead or injured.

TV footage showed ambulances taking passengers to hospital. According to Pakistani TV stations, heavy machinery had not reached the scene about four hours after the crash.

Pakistan’s prime minister expressed sorrow over the tragedy. Imran Khan tweeted that he had asked the railway minister to supervise the rescue work and also ordered an investigation.

Aijaz Ahmed, the driver of the Sir Syed Express, told Geo News TV that he had tried his best to avoid the derailed train by braking but his attempts failed.

Overturned carriages at the scene of the crash. Photograph: AP

Mohammad Amin, one of the passengers on the Millat Express being treated in hospital for minor injuries, said that before the train had departed from the southern port city of Karachi, he and his brother, who was also on the train, had seen railway mechanics working on one of the coaches.

That led them to believe there was something wrong with it but they were reassured all was fine. The train car that was being worked on was the one that later derailed, Amin claimed.

Habibur Rehman Gilani, the chairman of Pakistan Railways, told Geo News TV that the section of track where the collision had taken place was old and needed replacing. He did not elaborate.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where successive governments have paid little attention to improving the poorly maintained signal system and ageing tracks.

In 1990, a packed passenger train struck a standing freight train in the south, killing 210 people in the worst rail disaster in the country’s history.

Most viewed

Most viewed