Scores killed, injured as passenger train catches fire in Pakistan

By Nasir Aijaz
AsiaN Representative

Islamabad: More than 70 people were killed and several injured when a train caught fire near Liaquatpur town of Punjab province on Thursday morning.

The train, named ‘Tezgam’, which means ‘Fast-moving’, was on its way from Karachi, capital of Sindh province, to Rawalpindi, Punjab when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured.

The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class carriages and a business class.

District Police Officer Rahim Yar Khan Ameer Taimoor Khan while speaking to media, confirmed the death of 72 people, with at least 50injured.

A Pakistan Railways official confirmed that the fire was caused by the explosion in a gas cylinder. After the blast, the raging fire engulfed two other coaches as well.

Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed while speaking to media said: “Two cooking stoves blew up. The passengers were cooking and they had cooking oil which added fuel to fire.”

“Most deaths occurred from people jumping off the train,” he added.

He told that men from a ‘Tableeghi Jammat (The religious preaching organization) were travelling in the carriage where the incident occurred. “Bogies were severely damaged by the fire and they have been detached by the rest of the train,” he said.

According to some reports the members of religious organization were going from Karachi to Rawalpindi to take part in anti-government rally and sit-in at Islamabad, the federal capital, where hundreds of thousands people, mostly the students of seminaries from across the country have already reached in a rally led by religio-political party chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman. The seminary students traditionally travel along with ration and other cooking material.

Mr. Baqir Husain, the head of the district rescue service, told media that some of the passengers died when they jumped from the moving train to escape the flames.

At least 24 people were killed in July this year when a train named the ‘Akbar Bugti Express’ travelling from Lahore to Quetta collided with a stationary freight train at the Walhar Railway Station in Sadiqabad Tehsil of Punjab province. (Ends) http://loans-cash.net