20 Sikh pilgrims die in train-bus collision in Pak

Lahore: At least 20 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims returning from Nankana Sahib were killed when the driver of the mini-bus they were travelling reportedly tried to take a short cut to avoid a shut railway crossing and rammed the vehicle into a passenger train in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday, officials said. The mini-bus, carrying around 26 Sikh pilgrims, all from Peshawar, hit the Shah Hussain Express which was coming from Karachi.

Lahore: At least 19 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims were killed when a mini-bus carrying them rammed into a passenger train at a railway crossing in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday, officials said. There have been conflicting reports about the death toll as police and rescue officials confirmed 20 dead while the railways put the figure at 15. But the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) insisted that a total of 29 people, including 19 Sikh pilgrims, lost their lives in the accident. However, the police and ETPB confirmed that the dead included 19 Sikhs who belonged to Peshawar. The mini-bus carrying Sikh pilgrims, who were returning from Nankana Sahib in Punjab, hit the Shah Hussain Express which was coming from Karachi to Lahore at a crossing near Sheikhupura district at around 1.30 pm, officials said.