Karachi Express derails near Pano Aqil

At least 13 passengers sustained injuries when 7 bogies of the Lahore-bound Karachi Express train derailed near Pannu Aqil Taluka of Sukkur district on Saturday night, suspending traffic on both the up and down tracks.

The train was headed from Karachi to Lahore when it crashed near Mando Dero Railway station.

It is not immediately known what exactly caused the accident, but railways sources said that the railway track is in dilapidated condition at several places in the Sukkur division.

“Seven bogies of the Karachi Express derailed,” a source said here. “About 13 passengers are injured. Despite the double track, all railway traffic up and down has been suspended,” the sources added.

Pakistan has a shoddy record when it comes to accidents involving trains. In the past decade, the country witnessed a number of deadly train accidents, and they seem to have increased in frequency over the past few years.

In February, last year, at least 19 people died when a train collided with a passenger bus near Rohri – also in the Sukkur division.

In October, 2019 more than 70 people died in a fiery explosion on a moving train near Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab.