Lahore/Islamabad: At least 34 people were killed and over 120 injured on Thursday in two separate accidents in Pakistan, including one in which an express train rammed into a stationery freight train in Punjab province.
In the first accident, at least 13 people were killed and 34 others injured after a speeding passenger bus overturned near Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad.
The bus was going to Lahore from Swat when the accident took place at an interchange near Hassan Abdaal, about 45 km from Islamabad, police said.
The second accident happened when the Quetta-bound Akbar Express collided with the stationary freight train at the Walhar Railway Station in Sadiqabad Tehsil of the province, Dawn quoted officials as saying.
The freight train was on the loop line when the speeding passenger train instead of running on the main line entered the wrong track.
The regional police officer (RPO) in the area said rescue teams, using hydraulic cutters, have now recovered all the dead and wounded from the wreckage and completed their operation.
The RPO said 21 people were killed and 89 others injured in the accident. The engine of the Akbar Express was completely destroyed in the accident while three compartments were also damaged, police said.
The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals of Sadiqabad and Rahim Yar Khan for treatment where an emergency has been declared, Geo news reported. Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi have expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the train accident.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Khan said he has asked Railways Minister to take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure and ensure safety standards. Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has ordered an investigation into the accident.
He said that the accident appeared to have occurred due to human negligence. He announced compensation of Rs 15 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh each for the injured, Dawn reported. (PTI)
