At least 40 people killed and dozens more injured in a collision of two passenger trains in southern Pakistan.
Officials said that one train travelling in Sindh province had derailed and landed on another track. A second train packed with passengers then collided with it and overturned.
Rescue teams took the injured to nearby hospitals and it is thought that several are in a critical condition.
According to local media reports, 150 people died in such incidents between 2013 and 2019.
“There are about six to eight bogies [carriages] that are totally smashed… there is a sleeper train, AC [air conditioned] class, as well as economy class, in which there were between 47 to 50 people on this side and around 50 to 60 people on the other train,” said a senior official in the Ghokti district.
PM Imran Khan tweeted about this mishap, saying:
It is not clear what caused the derailment. Several people are though to remain trapped. Hospitals in the area have been put on emergency alert to deal with the casualties.
The accident happened early on Monday when the Millat Express coming from Karachi derailed, falling onto another track. The Sir Syed Express coming from Rawalpindi collided with it and overturned.
Local media have cited officials as saying that a relief train has been dispatched to the crash site while helpline centres have been set up for passengers.
Source: bbc.com