A train in Sindh’s Ghotki district smashes into derailed carriages of another train on Monday; killing at least 40 people; in the latest misfortune to highlight the perilous state of the country’s more than 165-year-old railway system.
Several people were still trap in the mangled wreckage near Daharki, in a remote part of rural Sindh, which took rescue workers with specialist equipment hours to reach.
Rail accident on the decrepit system are common. The network has seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.
More than 300 people got kill and 700 injure in a mishap in 1990 when an overloaded 16-carriage inter-city train crashed into a stationary freight train near Sukkur.
A senior official in the Ghotki district, Usman Abdullah, inform to Reuters news agency it was hard to know how many people were still trap in the train.
More recently, at least 75 people died when a train caught fire while travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi; in October 2019.
Prime Minister Imran Khan asks Railway minister to ensure medical assistance and support for families of dead.
Shocked by the horrific train accident at Ghotki early this morning leaving 30 passengers dead. Have asked Railway Minister to reach site & ensure medical assistance to injured & support for families of the dead. Ordering comprehensive investigation into railway safety faultlines
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 7, 2021
However this is not the first time Pakistan railways has witnessed a disaster; in history immense such cases were reported where due to incapability of the railway system.