Seven people, including three children, were killed after a business coach of the Karachi Express travelling from Karachi to Lahore caught fire near Tando Masti Khan railway station in Khairpur district in the wee hours of Thursday.
According to the police and Pakistan Railways officials, six passengers, including three children, were burnt to death in the blaze which engulfed bogie Number 17 while a 70-year-old, Rabia Bibi, succumbed to her injuries sustained by jumping out of the moving train. There were reportedly a total of 28 passengers in that carriage most of whom, according to the police, jumped out of the train to save their lives.
Four of the deceased, including the minors, were late Rabia’s family members. They were identified as 22-year-old Aneeba, 10-year-old Abdul Rehman, nine-year-old Maryam and five-year-old Fatima.
The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Khairpur.
The police surgeon, Dr Abu Talib, told the media that all the burnt bodies were unidentifiable. “We will have to wait for the DNA test to come back before handing over the bodies to the bereaved families.”
The cause of the fire could not be ascertained till the filing of this news story.
Sukkur Railways Deputy Superintendent Mohsin Siyal said that Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique had formed a committee to investigate the cause of the fire, adding that it would be too early to jump to any conclusion at the moment.
“The federal government inspector of railways has been tasked with conducting the inquiry. He will share the findings with the media apart from submitting the report to the government.”
The Sukkur DS, DCO and other railway officers were present at the spot and kept monitoring the situation and reporting it to the ministry.
According to a statement issued by the PR, information about the incident was received at around 12:30am. The fire brigades were immediately called in and the flames were doused by 1:50pm. The people of the area, however, claimed that it took several hours for the flames to be extinguished.
The passengers had to wait for more than six hours before the train resumed its journey to Lahore at 6:45am.
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