Train accident kills 16 in E Pakistan

At least sixteen people, including women and children, have been killed when an express train struck an overloaded motorcycle rickshaw in Pakistanâ„¢s eastern province of Punjab.

According to local sources, the high-speed train — traveling from the countryâ„¢s largest and most populous metropolitan city of Karachi, located 1,146 kilometers (712 miles) east of the capital Islamabad, to the provincial capital of Lahore — hit the rickshaw at a an unmanned railway crossing, which had no barrier.

Senior police officer Himayun Tarar said the crash happened near Khanpur village in the Shaikhupura District of Punjab province on Saturday.

District civil administration stated that the mishap took place as the rickshaw driver drove onto the train track moments before the Lahore-bound train approached.

The rickshaw driver did not notice the train and tried to cross the track, but the vehicle’s engine broke down in the middle of the track.

The train could not stop and rammed into the rickshaw and pushed it up to one kilometer away. Parts of rickshaw and human limbs were strewn on both sides of the railway track.

Twelve out of the total 16 passengers onboard the rickshaw died on the spot, while four others later succumbed to their serious injuries at hospital.

All the victims reportedly belonged to the same family, and were heading to a local shrine for pilgrimage.

Local residents staged a protest rally in the aftermath of the deadly accident, and asked authorities to erect a safety gate at the crossing to save people’s lives. They argued that a couple of similar accidents have already occurred at the same spot in the past.

Pakistan maintains a poor railway system based on the British-era track and old coaches.

Fatal train crashes routinely take place in Pakistan as there are hundreds of unmanned rail crossings in the Asian country, and motorists speed through tracks without looking for oncoming trains.

MP/SS