74 killed in train fire in Rahim Yar Khan

BAHAWALPUR: At least 74 people were killed and over 40 injured as Rawalpindi-bound Tezgam Express train caught fire near Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district on Thursday, rescue officials said.

Television footage showed flames pouring out of three carriages as people could be heard crying during the incident. According to officials the fire broke out apparently after a gas cylinder blast which passengers were reportedly using to cook breakfast. Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid also confirmed gas cylinder explosion caused the inferno.

“A cylinder exploded and I don’t know how, fire erupted everywhere,” one survivor, Muhammad Imran, told AFP from a hospital in Rahim Yar Khan. “I jumped out of the train to save my life. There was a whole line of people behind me, they pushed,” he said.

However some passengers disputed the claim. A man, talking to media on the incident site, blamed electric short circuit for the tragedy.Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

District Emergency Officer Punjab Emergency Service Rescue-1122 Bahawalpur Region Baqir Hussain told media the rescue operation at the incident site in Tanwri area of Chani Goth had been completed and all bodies and injured had been shifted to different hospitals. He said some passengers were burnt to death in the bogies No 3, 4 and 5, adding some others succumbed to their injuries on way to hospitals. Replying to a question, he said the fire had been extinguished.

Baqir said people could get information about the victims by calling on phone numbers of Rescue-1122, including 062-9250500 and 068-9230183. He said the incident had taken place near Tanwri Railway Station, Chak No 6, Chani Goth area that comes under the jurisdiction Tehsil Liaquatpur of Rahimyar Khan district.

Medical officials at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) in Liaquatpur told APP that 32 injured were brought to the hospital whose identification had been ascertained. They said six of the injured belonged to Karachi, one each to Sadiqabad, Khanpur and Abbottabad and the rest hailed from Mirpurkhas district of Sindh province. They said some of the wounded were referred to hospitals in Multan due to their critical condition.

Some of the injured had also been shifted to Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) in Bahawalpur and Sheikh Zaid Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan. He said as many as 17 bodies were severely burnt and could not been recognised, adding DNA test of the bodies would be carried out for the identification purpose.

Officials told APP the affected bogies No 3 and 4 were booked for the members of Tableeghi Jamaat who were travelling to attend a religious gathering in Raiwind, Lahore.

District Police Officer Rahim Yar Khan Ameer Taimore Khan earlier confirmed death of 62 passengers. Talking to journalists, he said a group of passengers started preparing breakfast on a gas cylinder stove that caused an explosion and fire eruption in the train. “Several passengers died and injured in the train fire belonged to Mirpur Khas, Tando Adam, Hyderabad and other areas of Sindh province who were travelling to attend a religious gathering,” he said.

Muhammad Nadeem Zia, a medical superintendent at the hospital in Liaquatpur, the nearest town, told AFP some of the victims were killed by head injuries sustained as they leapt from the moving train.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Bahawalpur said Army personnel and helicopter of Army Aviation were immediately dispatched to the affected site.

“Army helicopter has transported injured to hospitals in Bahawalpur and Multan,” it said, adding Army personnel joined civil rescuers to carry out rescue and relief operation at the site. Army doctors and paramedics also provided the injured with first aid and medical treatment.

A senior official of Pakistan Railways, Aijaz Ahmed, said rescue and relief operation was under way. He said an inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

He said the affected railway track had been cleared for routine railway traffic.Meanwhile, Minister for Railways Shaikh Rashid announced compensation of Rs1.5 million each for

the families of the train fire victims who lost their lives and Rs 0.5 million each for the injured.