Train crash kills 50 near Sukkur-Pakistan

SUKKUR - At least 50 passengers were killed and more than 200 injured as 13 coaches of Lahore-bound 15-Up Karachi Express derailed on Tuesday night at Goth Chaudhry Muhammad Din Arain between Mehrabpur and Sialabad Railway Stations after its departure from Padidan Railway Station.The condition of more than two dozen passengers is said to be critical. After the information of the incident, the high officials of Railways, police, Rangers and Army rushed to the spot and started rescue and relief work.The injured were shifted to different hospitals of Nawabshah, Mehrabpur, Khairpur and Sukkur. The up and down railway traffic was suspended.Scores of people on 25 passenger and goods trains were stranded as several of them were halted at Kotri, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Rohri,Khairpur and Khanpur Railway stations.According to Railway officials, 30 to 48 hours time would be needed to repair and make the railway track workable. Caretaker Federal Railways Minister has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for those killed and Rs 50,000 each for those injured in the train accident.The relief work was started immediately but due to dark and cold weather difficulties was faced by the rescue teams.The first relief train was sent from Rohri to the spot of incident early in the morning.Abdul Sattar Edhi alongwith two helicopters and 35 ambulances also reached the spot and started removing bodies and injured from the train coaches.Those killed in the accident include Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Yousuf, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Hussain, Islamuddin, Rasheed, Hameed, Nasreen Abro, her son Abdul Rehman 5, Shan Muhammad, Imran Khan, Muzaffar, Shamoo Masih, Muhammad Nawaz, Fayaz Hussain, Shahid Khan, Fauzia Begum, Asif Raza, Tanveer Ahmed, Fayaz Ahmed, Muhammad Ramzan and others.The injured includeMuhammad Idris, Muneer, Muhammad Amin, Shahbaz, Syed Islam, Muhammad Shoaib, Tayyab, Faisal, Saeed, Imran, Ghulam Mustafa, MuhammadAnwar, Muhammad Sarwar, Asghar, Muhammad Imran, Umer Farooq, Sufia, Umeed Ali, Waseem, Muhammad Saleem, Afzal, Bilawal, Karam Hussain and others who were shifted to Kandiaro, Halani, Naushero Feroze, Ranipur and Hingorja hospitals while 15 injured who were in critical condition were shifted to Pano Aqil Cantt,Ghotki and Karachi hospitals.The driver of the train Asif Javed in his initial statement said that the accident was the result of terrorism as fish-plates and nuts of the track were missing.He further said that at the time of accident the train was running at the speed of 105km per hour, which was normal speed of a non-stop train.Efforts were still under way to restore railway traffic on down track after repairing the track.Agencies add: Pakistan Railways ruled out sabotage and said a piece of track appeared to have broken in the extreme cold, sending the 17-carriage train hurtling over an embankment outside Mehrabpur near Sukkur. Several carriages were crushed or torn to shreds. “We hope there are no bodies left inside,” said Brigadier Mazhar Jamil, who led the army rescue team that worked through the night and morning, treating the wounded and picking through the mangled wreckage for the dead. The Karachi Express was en route to Lahore, filled with hundreds of people getting ready to celebrate Eidul Azha, when the train derailed outside Mehrabpur, 200 kilometres northeast of Karachi. The carriages then slid down an embankment four metres high. Some simply tipped over while others were ripped open, as terrified survivors scrambled through the pitch dark and freezing cold to safety. The operations manager of the state-run rail company, Asad Saeed, said that 45 bodies had been counted and that more than 100 people had been injured. But he later acknowledged that there had been differing tolls throughout the course of the day - from between 28 to 56 dead. Rescue teams found a badly injured four-year-old girl, weeping in pain amid the debris. Her parents were missing and presumed dead, said Abdul Hameed of the Edhi Welfare Trust, a major national aid group. “We have tried to find her relatives,” Hameed said. “But nobody has come forward.” Several carriages were destroyed, and wheels from the train were found a half-kilometre from the site of the wreck. Rescue workers gathered the scattered belongings of passengers that littered the site - shoes and quilts, schoolbooks, broken furniture - in a separate tent, waiting for those owners who were still alive to come and claim them. “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,” said Shahid Khan, a 24-year-old salesman. “We were grappling in the darkness. Somehow we managed to make it out,” a shaken Khan said. “People were screaming and scrambling to get out,” said Mohammad Jamil, who fractured his arm. “It was the middle of the night and we couldn’t see anything.” Jamil said the military found no signs of foul play in the train wreck. Meanwhile, General Manager Pakistan Railways Asad Saeed said broken track joint caused the derailment of Lahore bound Karachi Express.Talking to PTV, he ruled out possibility of terrorism. “A welded track joint broke. Tracks shrink in winter. There are many forces on the track and sometimes this joint breaks,” he said giving probable reasons behind the tragic accident. Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday directed immediate inquiry into the causes leading to the derailment of the Karachi Express and the heavy loss of life.The President directed the Pakistan Railways to investigate into the matter and fix responsibility so that the culprits may be punished and measures taken to ensure such incidents do not recur.President Musharraf also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life in the accident 5 km north of Mehrabpur, near Sukkur.He directed the concerned authorities to provide best possible medical treatment to those injured and to facilitate the passengers of the train.Staff Reporter from Lahore adds: “The train jolted violently as if a bike was passing over a bumpy road, before it seemed that we are being crushed under the weight,” Mohammad Yousaf of Daroghawala narrated his experience to TheNation after reaching Lahore onboard Jinnah Express here Wednesday night. He was accompanied by his foster grandson who was also injuried. When asked if the train was moving at a fast speed, he said that the velocity of the train was considerable at that time. He also claimed that about 200 people were hospitalised. He also pointed out that the adjoining area villagers also took part in the relief work. He also spoke of his belongings being taken away by people.Among the passengers in bogey 3 were three cadets Hasan, Faisal and Tauseef who were lucky enough to come out of the accident unscratched. They said that they were fast asleep when the accident occurred. Saleem, a resident of Karachi, currently on the visit to Lahore was visibly disturbed as he still needed support. He was asleep when the jolts derailed the ill-fated Karachi Express.