Railways authorities, police and Rescue 1122 teams evacuated the railway station and made announcements over mosque loudspeakers warning the people to stay away from the station, fearing that the carriages could explode due to the inflammable substances loaded onto them.
Sources said that the chemical in one of the bogies suddenly caught fire which quickly engulfed the whole carriage, with flames licking the sky.
There was chaos all around as panicked people ran for safety. The blaze soon reduced carriage No 30381085 to ashes and damaged two others. The liquid chemical in the train kept fuelling the flames.
The fire brigade arrived to fight the blaze as a former president of the local bar association, Khalid bin Saeed, who happened to be at the station at the time, informed them.
The fire-fighters, assisted by local volunteers, doused the flames after an hour’s effort. Had the rescue operation not been mounted in time, the fire threatened to engulf the entire station.
The financial damage caused by the incident is estimated to run in the millions.
A heavy contingent of police led by ASP Muhammad Anwer Khetran and Rescue 1122 also assisted in maintaining order and rescuing the passengers.
Station master Allah Dino said that the goods train had to be parked at the station because its engine failed a day earlier.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2010.
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