Tragedy in Bolan: 16 dead as train hurtles off tracks

180 passengers wounded when Jaffar Express derailed in Aab-e-Gum area

QUETTA:

A passenger train came off the tracks in central Balochistan on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people and injuring nearly 200 others. The train, Jaffar Express, was en route to Rawalpindi from Quetta when it derailed in the Aab-e-Gum area of Bolan district, 76 kilometres southeast of Quetta.

The train carrying 281 passengers hurtled off the tracks when its brakes failed as it sped down the side of a mountain, a senior official of Pakistan Railways told The Express Tribune. “When brakes fail, the driver always shifts the train to a dead-end siding,” he added. Another railway official blamed ‘excessive speed’ for the fatal crash. “The train overshot its course and rammed into the ground.”

Television images showed seven badly mangled carriages of the train thrown off the tracks with passengers still trapped inside. The damaged locomotive lay on its side. Home Minister Akbar Hussain Durrani confirmed the fatalities. The dead include 12 passengers, the driver and his assistant and two policemen, he said.

Earlier Assistant Commissioner Mach Sherzaman told The Express Tribune that at least 14 passengers were killed and 180 others wounded – some of them critically. Most of the injured were driven to the Civil Hospital in Quetta in ambulances. The military said in a statement that 47 injured passengers were airlifted to hospital in two Mi7 helicopters. Of them, 26 with critical wounds were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital.

Divisional Superintendent Railways Faiz Ahmed Bugti said rescue teams were called in to the mountainous region from Quetta. He added that two relief trains – one each from Quetta and Sibi – were sent to the crash site.

The military said it had joined the rescue and relief operation and was to use heavy machinery to free victims, while a quick response force from the paramilitary Frontier Corps was also deployed. Durrani praised residents of a nearby village who helped with the rescue efforts.

A passenger, who survived the fatal accident with minor injuries, said the train was repeatedly blowing its horns – and suddenly the carriages were thrown off the tracks. “A cloud of dust enveloped everything – and I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I found myself here,” Muhammad Saleem told The Express Tribune from his bed at the Civil Hospital.

The train service in the area has been suspended as cranes were brought in to remove the damaged carriages and locomotive and clear the tracks. Railway officials said it would take at least 24 hours to clear the tracks and resume service. Some of the passengers were sent to Rohri, in Sindh, onboard Akbar Bugti Express, while others were transported back to Quetta.

A control room has been set up at the office of the provincial chief minister where Dr Abdul Malik Baloch himself was monitoring the relief work. The chief minister, Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattha, Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Amir Riaz and DIG FC Brigadier Tahir Mehmood visited the area to oversee the rescue operation.

“We have asked the railways minister to order an inquiry into the deadly derailment. Action will be taken according to the findings of the inquiry,” the chief minister told journalists at the site. “The railway tracks in Balochistan are in a pretty bad shape. We have asked the railways ministry to overhaul the infrastructure in the province.”

Lawmakers in the provincial assembly expressed grief over the deadly derailment and offered condolences to the bereaved families. Speaking on a point of order, JUI-F MPA Shahida Rauf blamed the railways ministry for the accident. She said the railway infrastructure in Balochistan including tracks was crumbling, but the federal government was oblivious.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, which inherited thousands of miles of track and trains from former colonial power, Britain. The railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment. In July, at least 17 people were killed when a special military train fell into a canal after a bridge partially collapsed in Gujranwala.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2015.