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CatastrophePakistan

Pakistan launches probe into deadly rail derailment

August 7, 2023

At least 31 people were killed and 100 injured in the crash, according to authorities. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq did not rule out sabotage, but pointed to the poor maintenance of Pakistan's railway tracks.

https://p.dw.com/p/4UreZ
People in front of derailed train near Nawabshah, Sindh, Pakistan
Several carriages of a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed in southern Pakistan, killing dozensImage: ASIF HASSAN/AFP

Investigators on Monday began examining the causes of a deadly train crash in Pakistan.

More than 1,000 passengers were aboard the Hazara Express, which had departed from the southern city of Karachi and was on its way to Rawalpindi in Punjab.

The derailment occurred near Sahara railway station in the town of Nawabshah in southern Sindh province, around 275 kilometers (171 miles) northeast of provincial capital Karachi.

What is the state of investigations?

Several railway cars of the Hazara Express derailed in the southern province of Sindh on Sunday, killing 31 passengers, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said. Another 100 people were injured in the derailment.

The minister said sabotage could not be ruled out, while emphasizing the lack of proper funding for maintenance.

"Unfortunately," he told reporters, "we don't have enough funds to properly maintain our aging railway tracks, and yesterday's train crash apparently took place because of it."

"Our inspectors will begin to examine the track and damaged carriages to conclude what was the cause," Railways official Ali Mohamed Afridi told media.

He said that investigators would finalize the report within five days after speaking to drivers and passengers.

Railway workers repair damaged track near Nawabshah, Sindh, Pakistan
Repairs were ongoing on Monday, with rail services only partially resumedImage: ASIF HASSAN/AFP

Officials said that rail service had been partially restored on Monday.

Local television showed engineers clearing the railway track.

Mourners took the bodies of some of the victims to their hometowns after holding funerals in Nawabshah.

Dozens of injured people were still being treated at the hospital. Some seriously injured passengers were taken to distant hospitals in military helicopters.

The Pakistani Taliban militant group denied any involvement in the crash.

What are some of the earlier rail accidents in Pakistan?

Separatist groups in Sindh and neighboring Balochistan have at times targeted trains and rail tracks.

However, train accidents in Pakistan are often the result of poorly maintained infrastructure.

In 2021, two trains collided in the district of Ghotki in northern Sindh, killing at least 65.

Pakistan's deadliest rail disaster occurred in 1990, when a passenger train collided with a freight train near the city of Sukkur, killing 210 people.

sdi/wd (AP, AFP, dpa)