KARACHI – More than 30 persons were killed and scores were injured on Sunday after 10 coaches of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed near Sahara Railway Station, located between Shahdadpur and Nawabshah.
The injured were shifted to the People’s Medical Hospital in Nawabshah, with more casualties feared.
Initially, Police carried out rescue operations with the help of local people as the administration declared an emergency at the nearby hospitals.
Personnel of military and paramilitary forces also reached the spot to assist in the relief and rescue operation.
Edhi Foundation dispatched dozens of ambulances to the spot from its Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur centres.
The disastrous accident become a top trend on Twitter with users sharing the latest updates through tweets.
UPDATE: At least 20 passengers have been reported dead over 50 injured in the #Pakistan train accident #HazaraExpress https://t.co/BDPXUj3f73 pic.twitter.com/olNOjWP4tp
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) August 6, 2023
As per the Pakistan Railways officials, the reason behind the derailment is not yet known.
Following the tragic accident, railway traffic on both up and down tracks was suspended.
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that he was collecting information about the train accident.
He said that the Railways Secretary was in Nawabshah and closely monitoring the situation. He said that the authorities were on alert and performing relief and rescue operations. He said that the incident would be thoroughly probed after completing the rescue operation.
In a video clip shared by Pakistan Railways, Khawaja Saad Rafique confirmed 28 causalities and injuries to scores of other passengers. He directed sharing details of causalities and injured as people were worried about conditions of their near and dear ones. He said that around 1.000 passengers were travelling on Hazara Express.
He thanked railways employees. Pakistan Army and Rangers jawans for carrying out timely rescue operations. He said that nine out of ten coaches have been removed. He said that a crane has been dispatched for removing the remaining one boggy from the track. He expressed hope that the track would be cleared for traffic within few hours. He said that the compensation would be given as per the policy but now it was not the time to share details. He said that a team has been sent to ascertain the exact cause of the incident. He said that the track in the area was in good condition and as per driver the train was moving at a speed of 45-50 kilometer per hour.
Train mishaps are quite usual in Pakistan.
Last day, three coaches of Sialkot-bound Allama Iqbal Express were derailed near Padidan. Fortunately no one was hurt in the accident.
