A really tragic event took place this Sunday in southern Pakistan. A Hazara Express train derailed at Sahara railway station in Nawabshah, Sindh province, and according to reports, at least 28 people have tragically lost their lives, with many more injured.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique described it as a significant accident during his interaction with reporters on Sunday. Sharing the sad news, Rafique confirmed that around 28 passengers have been killed with numerous others injured. Quite a lot of folks were on that train when the disaster struck—Rafique estimates the count to be around a whopping 1,000 passengers. To make matters worse, there were no reported faults on that particular track where the derailment happened.
Sindh’s local police officer from Sanghar district, Muqarrab Khan, informed dpa news agency that about 50 people had been injured in this unfortunate incident. Let’s hope the injured recover swiftly and the affected families find strength during this tough time.
Mohsin Syal, who works for the railway, shared with HUM News that sadly, the Hazara Express had some trouble. This train, normally traveling smoothly from Karachi to Abbottabad, unfortunately derailed in Nawabshah; a city which is just a stone’s throw away (just 275km or 170 miles) from Karachi, in the Sindh province.
Pictures shared on local news outlets show a crowd of locals trying to help. They’re breaking windows to help get passengers out of the wrecked carriages. One of the carriages has completely flipped over.
It’s a hectic scene over at Nawabshah Trauma Centre too. Ambulances and even private cars are hurriedly bringing in the injured folks for medical attention.
One bloke was even seen jumping out of an ambulance holding a kid, his outfit completely covered in blood. Another woman was seen screaming in pain, being rushed in on a stretcher.
Asked about what happened, one shaken up woman said nobody knew. They were “just sitting inside” when it happened. Quite a wild scene, isn’t it?
The Hazara Express is a daily commuter train that begins its journey from Karachi, a port city located in the southern region of Pakistan and travels all the way north to Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The entire trip is about 1,600km (or 994 miles), and it typically takes around 33 hours to complete.
Unfortunately, Pakistan’s aged railroad system is notorious for frequent mishaps and derailment incidents. In fact, back in June 2021, a devastating accident took place near Daharki in Sindh province. Two trains brutally collided, claiming the lives of 65 passengers and injuring around 150 others.
In the incident, one express train derailed and ended up on the opposite track. Tragically, another passenger train slammed into the derailed train’s wreckage about a minute later.
This was, sadly, not an isolated occurrence. In 2019, at least 75 passengers lost their lives in a fire on the Tezgam express train. And in yet another horrifying incident in 2005, a two-train collision at Ghotki resulted in more than 100 fatalities.
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