At least 15 people have been killed after a train travelling from the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi to Abbottabad derailed in the city of Nawabshah in Sindh province, according to the country’s railways minister.
“This is quite a big accident. Rescue teams have reached on site and at least 15 passengers were killed and 45 injured,” Khawaja Saad Rafique told reporters on Sunday, adding that “more rescue teams have been dispatched to the site”.
About 50 people have been injured in the accident, Muqarrab Khan, a local police officer from the Sanghar district of Sindh, told the dpa news agency.
Mohsin Syal, a railway official, earlier told HUM News channel that eight coaches of the Hazara Express, which was travelling from Karachi to Abbottabad, derailed near Sahara railway station in Nawabshah, about 275km (170 miles) from Karachi, the capital of Sindh province.
Images posted to local media show dozens of people at the site, with some smashing windows to help passengers clamber out of the twisted carriages and at least one coach overturned.
Accidents and derailments occur frequently on Pakistan’s antiquated railway system.
In June 2021, two trains collided near Daharki in Sindh killing at least 65 people and injuring about 150 others.
Source: Aljazeera