Pakistan crash kills 11 as train ploughs into freight carriages
A passenger train crashed into a freight train in southern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 60 others.
The freight train was stationary when the speeding passenger train hit it at Walhar Railway Station near the city of Sadiqabad in Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab province.
Rescue workers including army personnel had to cut through the twisted metal of derailed carriages to reach survivors. Some of the injured were in critical condition, officials said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed the accident on “decades of neglect” of Pakistan’s railway system.
“Have asked the railways minister to take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure and ensure safety standards,” Mr Khan tweeted.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said the cause of the crash was under inves
tigation but human error was believed to be responsible.
“I have ordered an inquiry. Investigation will complete in two-three days,” Mr Ahmed told Pakistan’s Geo Television channel.
A police official quoted by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper said a signal change sent the passenger train on to a loop line and into the freight carriages. The railways minister also announced compensation of 1.5 million rupees (Dh34,700) for the dead and 500,000 rupees for the injured.
Train accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly because of poor railway infrastructure and negligence of railway authorities.
Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed the accident on decades of neglect of Pakistan’s railway system