Fatal collision: Train crash kills five in Pattoki

Doctors say condition of 13 out of 25 injured passengers is critical

PATTOKI: At least five people were killed, while 25 others suffered injuries when a cargo train collided with a bus in Pattoki on Friday.

A police official said a goods train smashed into a bus near Landa Phattak area, killing five people on the spot while injuring 25 more passengers. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the bodies and injured to the nearby hospital for legal formalities and treatment.

The deceased were identified as Aneequr Rehman, Asif, Nadeem, Waseem Asghar and an unidentified man. The doctors at the hospital said the condition of 13 injured persons was critical.

Police said the accident took place when a train rammed into private factory’s bus. They claimed the incident occurred due to negligence of the railways staff.

Soon after the incident, residents staged protest and blocked the railway track demanding the provincial government to take notice of the incident.



Railways Minister Saad Rafique has announced compensation of Rs1 million for the deceased and Rs300,000 for the injured people. He said the victims will be facilitated by the government and all measures will be taken to ensure provision of proper treatment to the injured people.

Earlier on September 15, at least four people were killed and more than 100 injured when two trains collided near Multan. The accident occurred when the Karachi-bound Awami Express passenger train rammed into a goods train which had stopped after running
over a man crossing the railway track.

Railway official Saima Bashir blamed the accident on the passenger train driver, saying he failed to heed a red signal that went up after the goods train had stopped.

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

The railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

Last November, 19 people were killed in Balochistan after a train’s brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain.

In July 2015, at least 17 people were killed when a special military train fell into a canal after a bridge partially collapsed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2016.