Man killed in train accident at Mareer Bridge

B Humayun Aziz Sandeela

Rawalpindi : A 35-year-old man was killed after being hit by a train at Mareer Hassan on Sunday.

Javed Latif, a resident of Dhoke Chiraghdin was trying to cross the rail track at Mareer Hassan Bridge when a train departing Rawalpindi Station was not too far. Unfortunately, he could not make it in time and got stuck on the railway track and was hit by the train and died on the spot, Rescue 1122 officials who were present at the scene told 'The News'.

An eyewitness, Salman Rasheed, also confirmed that the victim tried to escape the approaching train but couldn't make it.

Rescue 1122 and police personnel rushed to the spot and retrieved the body. His body was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Raja Bazaar, for post-mortem.

This is not the first instance where a person tried to cross the rail track minutes before the train’s arrival and failed to make it.

On December 19, 2021, a 16-year-old boy Hamdan Mehmood, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-I died after being hit by a train while crossing the track near Rahimabad.

On January 22 Hamza Naveed, 18, was walking next to the tracks while filming a video for social media in the Shah Khalid neighbourhood of Rawalpindi city when was hit by a moving train.

On April 26, the body of a man was found on the railway tracks near Bilal Chowk at Gulzar-e-Quaid. The man was moving on the railway track while listening to music when a speeding train hit him. Resultantly, the man suffered fatal injuries and died on the spot.

Majority of these accidents have been a result of negligence on part of the victims who showed reckless behaviour at the time of the accident.

“Railway track and bridge at Mareer Hassan is quite a dangerous spot for pedestrians as the majority of the residents in nearby localities like Dhoke Chraghdin often use it as a short cut, which is not a safe practice,” said an eye witnesses, Jamil Nazir standing near the bridge after Javed Latif’s body was shifted to the hospital.