Many killed as two trains collide in southern Pakistan
Officials said that one train travelling in the Sindh province had derailed and landed on another track. A second train packed with passengers then collided with it and overturned. Rescue teams took the injured to nearby hospitals, and it is thought that several are in critical condition. Pakistan has seen a string of deadly train accidents over the past years.
A senior official in the Ghokti district, Usman Abdullah, told Reuters news agency it was hard to know how many people were still trapped in the train."There are about six to eight bogies [carriages] that are totally smashed... there is a sleeper train, AC [air conditioned] class, as well as economy class, in which there were between 47 to 50 people on this site and around 50 to 60 people on the other train," he said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was "shocked" by accident and promised a full inquiry rootage from the site that shows the wreckage of several carriages lying on their side. It is not clear what caused the derailment. Several people are thought to remain trapped. quoted a railway spokesperson as saying: "The site is far, and that's why we are facing some trouble in the rescue work."
Hospitals in the area have been put on emergency alert to deal with the casualties. The accident happened early on Monday when the Millat Express coming from Karachi derailed, falling onto another track. The Sir Syed Express coming from Rawalpindi collided with it and overturned. Local media have cited officials saying that a relief train has been dispatched to the crash site while helpline centres have been set up for passengers.
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