Death toll from train derailment in Pakistan rises to 30 with dozens more injured

shutterstock_195665508497038

At least 30 people are confirmed dead and more than 90 injured after a train derailed in southern Pakistan on Sunday. CNN reported that The Hazara Express train carrying 950 passengers went off the tracks near the city of Nawabshah in the Benazirabad District of Sindh province. The train departed Karachi, a city on the coast of the Arabian Sea more than 160 miles away, at about 8 a.m.

Senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho that that ten cars of the train bound for Rawalpind had derailed near the Sarhari railway station off Nawabshah, with some overturned, trapping many passengers. Lakho, who is in charge of railways in the accident area, said rescue crews took injured passengers to the nearby People’s Hospital in Nawabshah. Police officer Abid Baloch said from the scene of the accident that 30 bodies had been recovered while more than 90 people were injured, many in critical condition. Baloch said women and children were among the dead and injured.

Railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said an emergency declaration has been issued for all hospitals in Sukkur and Nawabshah to treat the injured.  Pakistan army rangers arrived on the scene, some by helicopter, to undertake rescue efforts, while the cause of the investigation is under investigation.  Officials also believe that the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/train-derailment-kills-15-injures-50-southern-pakistan-102053249

Editorial credit: Tea Talk / Shutterstock.com