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NAWABSHAH, (MANEND NEWS): At least 20 people were killed and 53 were injured on Sunday when eight coaches of the Hazara Express train en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed near the Sarhari Railway Station in Nawabshah district.
Police, rescue officials ambulances reached the site upon receiving information of the accident while train operations on the track were immediately suspended.
Scores of villagers from nearby villages also reached the spot and started rescuing the stranded passengers. According to Rescue 1122, initially, 20 passengers were rescued and shifted to the Peoples Hospital Nawabshah.
Director General Health Services Sindh Dr Irshad Memon told The Express Tribune that 19 bodies have been shifted to nearby hospitals, including 12 to Sanghar and seven to the Nawabshah hospital.
He said that 53 passengers have been injured in the accident.
Meanwhile, an official of the Pakistan Railways (PR) said that the train left Karachi at 8 am and the reasons for the accident were being probed.
On the other hand, a spokesperson of the PR in Karachi said that the intensity of the accident increased due to delayed application of brakes. At least eight to 10 bogies derailed, he added.
The affected bogies will be lifted off the track in a few hours using machines, he said, adding that trains departing from Karachi might face delays.
There were over 1,000 passengers on board, reported Express News.
Relief trains have departed from Kotri and Rohri stations and are headed to the site.
Army rescue ops
The Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers also dispatched troops to the site on receiving the information.
They were sent on the directives of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) office.
Additional troops have been summoned from Hyderabad and Sakrand while army aviation helicopters have also been sent to immediately shift patients with critical injuries for medical attention.
The military’s media wing informed that troops have been directed to reach the site of the accident with food supply.
They are to remain on the site, assisting with the rescue operation, till all of the injured persons are shifted to the hospital and those trapped under bogies are rescued.