According to a director of Pakistani railways, the accident was caused by ice on tracks at a junction. Pakistan’s railway system is obsolete, and trains transport up to three times their passenger capacity.

Lahore (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A crowded passenger train derailed this morning on a line linking Karachi to Lahore: so far rescuers have confirmed 56 dead and over 100 injured.  The accident took place near Mehrabpur, in the southern province of Sindh: 12 carriages derailed some ending up in water.

Currently, rescue teams are trying top rise open one of the carriages, to free those trapped inside.  Despite efforts they lack sufficient means and the rescue proceeds at a slow pace.  Local inhabitants are contributing to the rescue operation, transporting the injured to hospital with by any available means.

The train was full of people on their way home for the feast of Eid al-Adha. One survivor, Shahid Khan, tells: “We were almost asleep when we heard something - a big bang. Then I felt I was flying through the air and the carriage was tumbling to the ground. We were grappling in the darkness. Somehow we managed to make it out”.

Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the accident.  Pakistan Railways operations manager Asad Saeed says: “Initial reports said a welded joint on the track broke, due to contraction in the extreme cold”.

Pakistan has a history of deadly accidents on its ageing railway system, casualty figures are often so high because trains are packed with far greater numbers than for which they were designed. More than 130 people were killed when three trains collided near the southern town of Ghotki in July 2005 in the country's worst train disaster for 15 years.

 

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