At least 15 people were killed and 40 others were injured when a train derailed in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Sunday, officials said. The accident occurred near the town of Daharki, about 600 km from Karachi, the capital of Sindh.
According to railway authorities, the Millat Express, which was travelling from Karachi to Sargodha, collided with the Sir Syed Express, which was coming from Rawalpindi. The collision caused several bogies of both trains to derail and overturn.
Rescue workers and local residents rushed to the site and pulled out the trapped passengers from the wreckage. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, where some of them were in critical condition. The death toll could rise further as some people were still missing, officials said.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but railway officials said they were investigating the possibility of a signal failure or human error. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his grief over the loss of lives and ordered an inquiry into the incident. He also announced compensation for the victims and their families.
Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railway infrastructure is outdated and poorly maintained. In June last year, at least 20 people were killed when a passenger train collided with a goods train in Punjab province. In October 2019, at least 74 people died when a fire broke out in a train near Rahim Yar Khan in Sindh.