Ten carriages of a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed and some overturned near the Pakistani city of Nawabshah, trapping many passengers, said Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho, a senior railway official.
Senior police officer Abid Baloch, present at the scene of the accident, said that 30 bodies have been recovered so far and more than 60 people were injured, some seriously. He added that the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue.
Baloch stated that among the dead and wounded are women and children.
Local television showed rescuers pulling women, children and elderly passengers from damaged and overturned carriages. Some of the injured lay on the ground calling for help while locals handed out food and water.
Lakho, who is in charge of the railways in the area of the accident, said rescue crews took the injured to the nearby People’s Hospital in Nawabshah. He detailed that the ill-fated Hazara Express was going from Karachi to Rawalpindi when 10 carriages skidded off the tracks near the Sarhari railway station in Nawabshah.
Mohsin Sayal, another railway official, said train traffic had stopped on the main track and repair trains were on the way. Alternative transportation and medical care will be offered for passengers, he added.
Railway Minister Khaja Saad Rafiq mentioned that the accident could have been due to mechanical failure or the result of sabotage. He said an investigation is underway.
Train crashes are common on poorly maintained stretches in Pakistan, where colonial-era signaling and communication systems have not been modernized and safety standards are poor.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
