MULTAN: Six people died and more than 150 were injured as a passenger train collided with a cargo train on Wednesday. As many as 350 passengers were on board the Awam Express train when it met with the accident.
Railway sources confirmed that the accident occurred near Buch Station when the Awam Express train collided with a cargo train. CPO Dr Rizwan disclosed that six people had died in the accident and more than 150 passengers were injured in the accident. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
According to the DCO, a person had been trampled underneath the cargo train, causing it to stop. As a result, the Awam Express passenger train rammed into the stopped cargo train from behind, causing the accident.
Locals gather at the scene where two trains collided near Multan.
Dozens of passengers remained stranded in the bogies relief operations were underway. Owing to the darkness, rescue officials were using light from mobile phones for visibility. A large amount of women and children were left stranded at the railway station. Passengers at the railway station were experiencing hunger and thirst.
The injured were shifted to Nishtar Hospital in Multan while others were transferred to the Shahbaz Sharif General Hospital. According to the DCO, emergency had been imposed in both hospitals to deal with the situation. Doctors at Nishtar Hospital in Multan, where the injured were shifted to, appealed to the masses to donate blood.
Due to the accident, four bogies of the Awam Express train overturned, which was on its way from Peshawar to Karachi. Railway authorities confirmed that an investigation was being conducted as to how the accident occurred and that several officers had been instructed to reach the spot where the accident had taken place.
According to initial report of the incident, passenger train driver was responsible for it.
Photo gallery of Multan train crash
CEO Railways, Javed Anwar said the initial report has been sent to the government. He said driver of the Awam Express ignored the signal, causing the accident.
According to Javed Anwar, three passengers died and 31 sustained injuries in the train crash.
Railway official Saima Bashir also blamed the accident on the passenger train driver, saying he failed to heed a red signal that went up after the goods train had stopped.
Local state-run rescue service spokesman Abdul Jabbar told AFP the number of injured exceeded 100.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq has sought investigation report of the incident within 72 hours.
Video goes viral on social media, drawing anger from netizens and demand for harsh penalties
Political Financing Wing of ECP has asked PTI representatives to appear before electoral watchdog on April 30
Epicentre of the earthquake was New Malir Karachi
IT ministry notifies tech expert's appointment as convener of Digital Pakistan committee headed by state minister
Pakistani, Irani leaders highlight need to resolve Kashmir issue via peaceful means based on will of people
Petitioners raise objections on top court's six-member bench hearing military court's case