Original title: Two trains collided in Pakistan killed at least 36 people. One express train derailed and was hit by another express train. The death toll is expected to increase further
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| On June 7, people gathered at the scene of a train collision in Sindh, Pakistan. /Xinhua News Agency |
On June 7, people gathered at the scene of a train collision in Sindh, Pakistan. /Xinhua News Agency
Liu Xi (Special Article by Xinhua News Agency)
Two trains collided in Sindh province in southern Pakistan on the 7th, killing at least 36 passengers and injuring dozens of others. The cause of the accident is temporarily unclear.
Rescuers try to rescue the trapped
Before dawn on the 7th, an express train from Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, to Sargodha derailed in the Kodeji area of Sindh province. Several carriages rushed into the opposite track and were hit by another express train. A spokesperson for Pakistan Railways and the police confirmed that at least 36 people were killed in the accident.
Kodji District Police Officer Omar Tufel told Pakistani Go News TV reporter that rescuers are still trying to enter a carriage where about 25 people are believed to be trapped. The death toll is expected to increase further.
Osman Abdullah, another police officer in the Kodji area, said that the reason for the train derailment and collision is not yet clear. The current challenge is to rescue the trapped passengers as soon as possible.
The scene broadcast by the local TV station showed that the mobile phone shots showed that several green carriages turned sideways to the ground. The ambulance is taking the injured passengers to the hospital.
A segment of the footage shows that medical staff are infusing a conscious passenger, the passenger’s lower body is trapped between the flattened benches in the carriage.
A spokesperson for Pakistan Railways said that rescuers desperately need professional cutting equipment to rescue the passengers trapped in the carriages. “The scene is very far away. This is why our rescue work is facing some trouble.”
The army has arrived at the scene to participate in the rescue
The Pakistani government said that the army had arrived at the scene of the accident and participated in the rescue.
According to senior executives of the railway company, the two trains carried more than a thousand passengers. Local media reported that some passengers took the express train bound for Sargodha to attend the wedding party. It is not clear whether they are among the dead or injured.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was shocked by the “horrible” accident that occurred in the Kodji area on the 7th and ordered a comprehensive investigation of the railway safety situation.
In October 2019, a train from Karachi to Rawalpindi caught fire, killing at least 75 people. In 2016, two trains carrying hundreds of passengers collided in Karachi, killing 21 people.
In 1990, in southern Pakistan, a passenger car full of passengers crashed into a freight train, killing 210 people. It was the worst railway accident in Pakistan’s history.