Karachi: At least 73 people were killed and several others injured when a train from Karachi to Rawalpindi caught fire in Pakistan's east Punjab province on Thursday, Geo news reported.
The incident happened when a gas cylinder being carried by a passenger exploded in the passenger train, Tezgam near the city area of Liaquatpur, a Pakistan Railways official said.
The injured have been shifted to DHQ Liaquatpur and Bahawalpur, said Ameer Taimoor Khan, DPO Rahim Yar Khan.
As per Geo news sources, 10 of the dead bodies have been identified. Identity of the other deceased persons is yet to be ascertained.
Confirming the death toll, Baqir Hussain, Head of the district rescue service said the dead bodies will be identified through DNA.
How did the tragedy occur
According to reports, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the blast occurred. Two adjoining coaches were engulfed in the raging fire. The fire destroyed three of the train carriages, including two economy class carriages and one business class.
Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed said: "Two cooking stoves blew up. They were cooking, they had (cooking) oil which added fuel to fire."
Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said that most of the victims belonged to the Tableeghi Jamaat (Islamic preachers) who were going to Lahore to attend a major annual congregation at Raiwind. The Railways Minister said gas stoves carried by some passengers blew up when they were preparing breakfast on the speeding train in violation of rules.
"Some of the passengers started making breakfast on small gas cylinders they brought with them when they exploded and the fire engulfed the three coaches of the train," he said.
Most deaths occurred from people jumping off the train, he added. He said the toll could rise further as more than 40 passengers have suffered severe burn injuries.
Rescue operations are underway and army helicopters are helping to shift the injured to hospitals, according to a statement by the military. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his grief over the incident and directed authorities to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.
The authorities said they were still trying to identify the victims and that the lists of fatalities and those injured were not ready yet.
"According to information reaching us from site of the accident, more than 65 people were killed and over 40 injured," provincial health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid told AFP.
The wounded were being rushed to hospitals in the nearby city of Bahawalpur and elsewhere in Rahim Yar Khan district, she said, adding that only 18 of the bodies were identifiable.
Television footage showed flames pouring out of the carriages as people could be heard crying, with local media reporting the incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab province.
"Terrible... train tragedy with gas cylinder carried by passenger exploding," tweeted human rights minister Shireen Mazari.
Local media reported that some of the passengers had been cooking breakfast when the cylinder exploded.
Mazari said the train was the Tezgam, one of Pakistan's oldest and most popular train services, which runs between the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad, and the southern port city of Karachi.
Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.
In July, at least 23 people were killed in the same district when a passenger train coming from the eastern city of Lahore rammed into a goods train that had stopped at a crossing.
Railway accidents in Pakistan often take place at the unmanned crossings, which frequently lack barriers and sometimes signals.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was elected last year on promises to build an Islamic welfare state but an ongoing economic slowdown and austerity measures have hampered efforts to invest in infrastructure and social programmes.
8am
Early reports claim that 10 people have been killed and 30 injured in a fire on the Karachi-Rawalpindi Tezgam express train. The location of the incident has been reported as Liaqatpur near Rahim Yar Khan.
The passenger train, Tezgam, caught fire near the city area of Liaquatpur, a Pakistan Railways official confirmed. The fire was caused when a gas cylinder being carried by a passenger exploded, he said.
According to details, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the blast occurred. Two adjoining coaches were engulfed in the raging fire.
Tezgam is a daily express train service between Karachi and Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
- Inputs from IANS, AP, AFP, PTI
