Seven perish in late-night train inferno

LAHORE/SUKKUR/ISLAMABAD: At least seven passengers including children and a woman died when a Lahore-bound Karachi Express train caught fire after midnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Railways said that an investigation team led by the Federal Government Inspector of Railways (FGIR) had left for investigation and findings would be shared with the media. The death toll in the Karachi Express fire has jumped to seven after the rescue teams recovered six burnt bodies from Cabin No 17 of the Karachi Express bound for Lahore. Karachi Express caught fire at near Tando Masti Railways Station in Khairpur, resulting in the death of seven including the family of Colonel Muhammad Ikram S/0 Imtiaz Abbasi. According to Pakistan Railways authorities, the train travelling from Karachi to Lahore suddenly caught fire midway when one of Cabin 17 started blazing near Tando Masti, Khairpur. The rescue operation has been completed and the fire has been put out.

The authorities initially claimed that two persons lost their lives in the incident, but the figure has now jumped to seven. Bodies Identified as Rabia Begum mother of Colonel, Abdul Rehman (10) his sisters Fatima (05) and Maryam (09) daughters of Colonel Ikram Abbasi while two burnt dead bodies were not recognised yet. DS and DCO Railways Sukkur said that at least seven people, including three children, died on Thursday after a fire broke out in a bogie of the Karachi Express train near Khairpur. They said they received information of a fire in a business-class coach on the train shortly after midnight as it travelled from Karachi to Lahore. The train was then immediately stopped near Tando Masti Khan Station and an emergency was declared by the fire brigade. The first fire-fighting vehicles reached the spot at around 1:50 am and after a struggle of about 40 minutes, the fire was brought under control.

The fire claimed the lives of seven passengers while four others remain unaccounted for. One of the passengers, 70-year-old Rabia Bibi, succumbed to her injuries after jumping from the burning coach. Authorities later separated the affected coach and the train resumed its journey around 7:30 am. They said that they supervised the rescue efforts and reported to the ministry. Taking strict notice of the incident, an investigation was ordered by the ministry. In this regard, a team under the leadership of the federal government inspector of railways has left for the scene of the incident and the media will also be informed as soon as the investigation is completed, DS Railways told.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique disseminated that the tragic incident of a fire in a coach of the Karachi Express train may have been caused by sabotage. The minister pledged a thorough investigation into the matter, which will uncover the cause of how long it took for the train to stop after pulling the chain and why a woman had to jump. The current accident’s details will be revealed in a couple of days. The Karachi Express, travelling from Karachi to Lahore, met a sudden blaze, leading to the fatalities of a woman and a man whose identity has yet to be verified. Rafique stressed the need for funds from the provincial government to improve railway safety and security measures to avoid future disasters.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the fire incident in the Karachi Express train near Khairpur in Sindh province.

In a statement on Thursday, the prime minister expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of people in the incident. He prayed for high ranks of the departed souls. The prime minister directed to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.

He also instructed the minister of Railways to complete and submit the inquiry report at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique while expressing deep grief over the loss of precious seven lives in a tragic railway fire incident on Thursday informed the National Assembly (NA) that possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out in the tragic incident. Replying to various supplementary questions during Question Hour and giving policy statements in the National Assembly, the minister said the factual situation would be cleared within one to two days after an inquiry into the incident.

He said unfortunately, seven persons including 77 years old woman, and three children have lost their lives due to breaking out of fire at AC Business passenger coach of Karachi Express. Apparently, the fire broke out due to short-circuiting, but he was not satisfied with this narrative, he added.

The minister said the railways restored its operation from its own resources without any support from the government as last year’s devastating floods caused huge losses to railways infrastructure.

A joint survey of Railways and the provincial government was conducted during the Year 2013-14 to identify accident-prone/vulnerable un-manned level crossings, he said. He said as of the current year, 167 vulnerable un-manned level crossings out of 550 identified have been upgraded to manned level crossings over the entire PR network for which the provincial government provided the finances.