t least 15 people have died following a train crash in southern Pakistan, reports have stated.
According to local broadcaster, Geo, a further 50 people have been injured after the train derailed near Nawabshah in the southern province of Sindh, roughly 275 km (171 miles) from the country’s largest city Karachi.
It is thought 10 carriages of the Hazara Express derailed as it travelled from Karachi Rawalpindi.
The country’s railway minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, said: “Ambulances are rushing towards the scene.
“An emergency has been declared at the Nawab Shah and Sukkur hospitals.”
Senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho said rescue crews took injured passengers to the nearby Peoples Hospital in Nawabshah.
Mohsin Sayal, another senior railway officer, said train traffic has been suspended on the main railway line as repair trains have been dispatched to the scene.
He added that alternative travel arrangements and medical care will be made available for the train’s passengers.
Train crashes often occurred on poorly maintained railways tracks in Pakistan where colonial-era communications and signal systems haven’t been modernized and safety standards are poor.
More to follow…
