Daily Times

At least 40 people were killed while more than 100 were injured in a collision between Sir Syed Express and Millat Express near Daharki early on Monday. Ghotki SSP Umar Tufail confirmed the death toll and informed that the deceased have been transported to surrounding hospitals.

According to railway sources, Millat Express was going from Karachi to Sargodha while Sir Syed Express was going from Rawalpindi to Karachi. After the accident, 8 bogies of Millat Express and 3 bogies including the engine of Sir Syed Express derailed, while some bogies fell into the ditch.

Trains on the up and down tracks have been suspended since the crash.

DS Railway Sukkur Tariq Latif said that he had informed the authorities in writing a month ago that the condition of the track at 13 places in the Sukkur division was not good, including the location of the accident site in these 13 places.

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The double accident happened around 3.30am when most of the 1,200 passengers aboard the two trains would have been dozing.

“We tumbled upon each other, but that was not so fatal,” Akhtar Rajput, a passenger on the train that derailed, told AFP.

“Then another train hit us from nowhere, and that hit us harder. When I regained my senses, I saw passengers lying around me, some were trying to get out of the coach.”

The Millat Express was heading from Karachi to Sargodha when it derailed, spilling carriages onto the track carrying the Sir Syed Express from Rawalpindi in the opposite direction.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the incidents were just minutes apart.

“I was disoriented and trying to figure out what happened to us when the other train hit,” Shahid, another passenger, told AFP.

Senior Daharki police officer Umar Tufail said 40 people were killed and dozens injured.

“One coach is under the engine, and we can see three bodies trapped inside,” he told AFP.

“Two other bodies have been reported elsewhere too, so we fear that the death toll will rise,” Tufail added.

A clip aired on a local channel showed medics giving an intravenous drip to a conscious passenger whose lower torso was trapped between crushed carriage benches.

Local farmers and villagers were the first at the site, with huge crowds gathering around the carnage of several overturned Pakistan Railways carriages — some clambering on top in an attempt to reach survivors.

The dead were laid out in rows on train seat benches and covered in traditional scarves.

– Communication problems –
The accident happened on a raised section of track surrounded by lush farmlands.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, a former railways minister, said the track where the accident occurred was built in the 1880s and described it as “a shambles”.

A senior police official said he had already warned authorities about the “dangerous condition” of the tracks and carriages.

The Pakistan army and paramilitary rangers from nearby bases were at the site to help.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was “shocked” by the accident and promised a full inquiry.

Gul Mohammad, who works with the Edhi Foundation ambulance service which was helping move dead bodies away from the site, said communication problems were hindering the coordination of the rescue efforts.

“I am talking to you as I stand on the rooftop of my ambulance for better signal,” he told AFP.

Rail accidents are common in Pakistan, which inherited thousands of kilometres (miles) of track and trains from former colonial power Britain.

But the network has seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

More than 300 people were killed and 700 injured in 1990 when an overloaded 16-carriage inter-city train crashed into a stationary freight train near the city of Sukkur in Sindh.

More recently, at least 75 people died when a train caught fire while travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi in October 2019.

Imran Khan offers condolences to the families of the bereaved

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a tweet, offered his condolences to the deceased and expressed his shock at the incident.

Difficulties in relief work

According to local officials, the rescue operation was hampered at night because of the darkness and the arrival of heavy machinery was delayed due to difficult routes.

Two information centers have been set up in the Karachi division for information about the accident, with one being set up at the Cantt Station in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.

Rs1.5 million in aid announced for families of deceased.

Authorities have announced Rs1.5 million each for the heirs of those killed in the accident while an investigation committee has been formed that would be headed by a 21 grade officer to probe into the crash.

Depending on the nature of injuries, victims of the crash will be given a minimum of Rs100,000 and a maximum of Rs300,000.

The DS railways has informed that the drivers and crew of both trains are safe. Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that a comprehensive inquiry  had been ordered into the Ghotki incident. He said, as of now, nothing can be said regarding the nature of the accident.