Walhar train track cleared for traffic as death toll rises to 24

Railways minister says accident due to human negligence

BAHAWALPUR: The death toll from the Akbar Express train accident rose to 24 after a severely-injured woman succumbed to her injuries at the Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, while rescuers found bodies of a child and a man from inside the train wreckage on the railway track in Walhar on Friday.

Meanwhile, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid said that the collision was the result of human negligence.

Rashid, speaking to a private news channel on Friday, said that the inquiry report of the incident would be finalised by day end and those found responsible for the mishap would be held accountable.

The railway minister also said that financial compensation will be provided to the victims. He said that Rs1.5 million each will be given to the heirs of the deceased, Rs0.5 million each to those who are critically injured and Rs200,000 each will be given to those who suffered minor injuries.

A Pakistan Railways spokesman had earlier said that negligence in changing the signal was the cause of the accident, as the Akbar Express went from the main line to the loop line, where a cargo train was already parked.

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Meanwhile, an official statement said that 100 people injured in the train accident – 65 men, 20 women and 15 children – were brought to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan. It said that 55 of the injured were discharged after the administration of medical aid, adding that some of the injured who were in very serious condition succumbed to their injuries.

The press release also said that cranes had removed the wreckage of the damaged locomotive from the railway track, which had been cleared for routine railway traffic.

Bahawalpur Commissioner Nayyar Iqbal, who visited the injured at the hospital in Rahim Yar Khan, said that all available health facilities were being provided to those admitted there.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

A National Assembly standing committee was recently told that there have been 384 train accidents in Pakistan since 2014: 74 in 2018-19, 67 in 2017-18, 78 in 2016-17, 76 in 2015-16, and 89 accidents in 2014-15.