Train inferno kills 74 as many jump

A RAGING fire believed to have been caused by an exploding cooking stove swept through a fast-moving train in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, killing 74 people.

Despite denials by railway staff, survivors said it took nearly 20 minutes for the train to stop. They told of pulling at emergency cords to raise the alarm, but claimed the flaming train sped on.

Three carriages were consumed by the inferno.

Screaming in panic, many passengers died when they jumped from the train. Bodies were later found strewn 2km along the tracks.

Of the 43 people listed as injured, 11 were in a critical condition yesterday.

Conductor Sadiue Ahmed Khan later claimed the train’s emergency braking system was in perfect working order and the train had stopped within three minutes of the first signs of fire. Investigators said they would focus on the train’s brakes.

Most of the dead were members of Tableeqi-eJamaat, an organisation of Islamic missionaries. The fire started in their compartment.

Spokesman Mufti Wahab said as many as 52 members of his group were “martyred”.

Railway officials said yesterday the fire started after one of several small stoves brought on to the train by Tableeqi members exploded, setting alight gas cylinders used to fuel them.

In Pakistan, poor passengers often bring their own small gas stoves onto trains to cook their meals, despite rules to the contrary.

Ghulam Abbas, who was on board with his wife and two children, said it took nearly 20 minutes for the train to come to a halt. He said he watched screaming passengers jump off. “We learned afterwards that most of them had died,” he said.

The northbound train was travelling from the southern port city of Karachi to Rawalpindi at the foot of the Himalayas, carrying 857 people.

The horror happened as it approached the small town of Liaquatpur in Punjab.