LAHORE: At least 34 passengers were killed and 80 injured after eleven bogies of Hazara Express derailed near Sarhari Railway Station, located between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah, on Sunday.
The train was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when at least eleven of its bogies derailed.
The passenger train was carrying more than one thousand passengers. Locals and passengers launched rescue activities and started pulling the trapped passengers out of wreckage of derailed bogies. Federal Minister for Railways addressing a press conference here on Sunday said that an emergency has been declared in nearby hospitals while the rescue operation is also underway.
At least 30 killed, several injured after train derails near Nawabshah
The injured victims are bringing shifted to People’s Medical Hospital Nawabshah. He said a train was dispatched from Kotri for assistance. Pakistan Army troops also joined the relief activities at the site of accident .Additional troops were also called in from Hyderabad and Sakrand with army aviation helicopters.
The cause of derailment is not yet known as officials reached the scene to probe the incident he added.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said that he was seeking basic information about the incident.
Railways minister said that Pakistan Army, Pakistan Rangers and Railways staff were participating in the rescue operation. Soon after the completion of the Rescue operation the list of deceased people will be issued he added
He said either someone could have “deliberately” caused the accident or it could also be a mechanical fault.
Rafique said the priority is to provide relief to the victim’s and then investigate the incident. He said the train was travelling at a reasonable speed of 50km per hour, adding officials had reached the scene and an emergency was imposed in hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah.
He further said that he had contacted Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah who also expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident and directed the Nawabshah deputy commissioner to provide the injured with immediate medical assistance.
It may be mentioned here that a day earlier three coaches of Allama Iqbal Express that was heading to Sialkot from Karachi derailed. No one suffered injuries in the incident.
Railway Minister Saad Rafiq offers condolences to families of victims of the Nawabshah train accident saying he is “deeply disturbed by the news.
He said his deepest condolences are with the families of the victims and that he wishes a speedy recovery to all those who were injured in the in the incident.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023