19 Sikh pilgrims killed

LAHORE, Pakistan - At least 19 pilgrims of Pakistan’s minority Sikh community were killed when a train collided with a passenger van in eastern Pakistan on Friday, officials said.

According to police, the dead, which include two children, were all residents of the western Pakistani city of Peshawar, home to most of Pakistan’s nearly 40,000 Sikhs.

The accident occurred at an unmanned Railway crossing close to the city of Sheikhupura in Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, Pakistan Railways public relations official Quratulain told Reuters.

The 19 killed were all passengers seated in the van, travelling from the town of Nankana Sahib to Farooqabad — both sites revered by followers of Sikhism.