At least 30 were killed and over 80 injured after as many as 10 bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed Sunday near Sahara Railway Station in Sindh’s Nawabshah district, officials said. Commissioner Benazirabad division Abbas Baloch said in a statement that at least 30 died in the incident. People on the site and local authorities shifted the wounded passengers to the People’s Medical Hospital in Nawabshah, which reportedly can cater to around 1,000 people. The train operations to and from the interior districts of Sindh were suspended after the train crash, affecting the routine of thousands, with railway authorities saying that it may take up to 18 hours to restore operations. Authorities fear heavy material and life losses as the ill-fated train is said to be carrying a large number of people, even more than its capacity. The train, comprising 17 bogies with a capacity of 950 passengers in its economy class and 72 in its air-conditioned standard coach, went off track on its way to Havelian from Karachi in district Sanghar, the senior superintendent of police said. He said that 10 station house officers (SHO), four district superintendents of police (DSPs), and more than 100 police personnel are participating in rescue work. Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique, during a press conference, said someone could have “deliberately” caused the accident and it could also be a mechanical fault. “First, we will provide relief and then investigate. Emergency has been imposed in hospitals in Sukkur,” the federal minister said. Saad Rafique promised that a thorough and impartial inquiry into the accident would be conducted to ascertain why the incident happened, though the track was fit and there was no engineering issue. As per statement of the train driver, he was running the locomotive at a speed between 45 and 50 kilometres per hour. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said the entire machinery of the Sindh government was dispatched to the site of the incident for relief operation and added that those who are in critical injured will be shifted to Karachi for medical treatment. All district hospitals including Sanghar and Nawabshah have been put on alert, the provincial minister added. There were chaotic scenes at the Nawabshah Trauma Centre as ambulances and private cars ferried the injured for treatment. A large number of cops from the Police Training Center are also present for relief work. Pakistan Army also joined the relief activities at the site of the accident after special instructions issued by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. Additional troops were also called in from Hyderabad and Sakrand with army aviation helicopters. The military personnel will reach the site with edibles for the rescued passengers. Meanwhile, the Rangers’ officials said personnel of the paramilitary force have also been dispatched for rescue work as per Sindh Rangers Director General (DG) Major General Azhar Waqas. “Trained personnel have been sent to the accident site for immediate rescue,” the people said, adding that the personnel will immediately transfer the injured to the hospital. Ambulances have also reached the site where medical aid and food are being provided to the rescued passengers. The Hazara Express is a daily passenger train that leaves Karachi and takes around 33 hours to reach Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, some 1,600 kilometres north. Accidents and derailments occur frequently on the country’s antiquated railway system, which has nearly 7,500 kilometres (4,600 miles) of track and carries more than 80 million passengers a year.