65 killed as train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan
Fire spread to three bogies of the Tezgam Express
Forty-six people were killed early Thursday morning as the Tezgam Express caught fire near Rahim Yar Khan, according to the Deputy Commissioner Jamil Ahmed Jamil.
The fire spread to three bogies of the moving train. It was heading to Rawalpindi from Karachi and was near the Tanwari Railway Station when the fire erupted.
Over 70 people were injured in the fire, confirmed the official. He said there were 207 people in the three bogies and a total of 933 people on the train. Two economy class and one business class bogies were destroyed in the fire, according to the Railways DCO, who said there were 77 people in one economy bogey and 76 in the other. There were 54 passengers in the business class bogey.
The two economy class bogeys had been booked by a man named Ameer Hassan and most of the passengers were from Hyderabad.
Rescue officials say the fire was caused by a cylinder exploding on the train. According to the Railways minister, members of the Tableeghi Jamaat booked the two economy class bogies and had brought gas cylinders to cook food. They were preparing breakfast when it exploded.
The fire brigade and rescue officials are still working to extinguish the fire. Ten fire trucks are at the scene.
Federal Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed told SAMAA TV that operations on both tracks have been suspended.
The people injured in the accident have been taken to a nearby hospital. Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered that they be provided top of the line medical care.
Rasheed told SAMAA TV that the fire broke out at 6:30am. There were two coaches booked by the Tableeghi Jamaat, he said, adding that they had brought two cylinders with them and stoves to cook food. One cylinder exploded, triggering the second one as well, said the minister. Their two coaches and a business class coach caught fire, he said, confirming “between 40 and 50 deaths”. We have asked the army for help and they have arrived because we have no private ambulances to take them to the hospital, he said. “There are no burns wards there, nor are there any in Rawalpindi or Islamabad.”
The minister said the Railways department has scanning machines at only seven stations, defending that they cost hundreds of thousands and his ministry can’t afford more. It was an accident and we will have to take notice of things like this, he said.
Despite food being provided on the train, people bring their own things and sometimes bring stoves, he admitted. We will be more strict, he said. But when asked why these precautions are being taken after the deaths of almost 50 people, he said, “It’s our mistake and their’s too”.
The solution is that we either close the 519 small stations across Pakistan or do something else, he said. But when he was told that would be detrimental for the people, he said “Passengers always try to sneak stuff on the trains”. He accepted that it was their job to stop people from bringing dangerous items aboard trains but called it “irresponsibility” not failure. He vowed that they will take action but refused to specify what.
“People don’t fear the law, try to understand,” he said. He also said that when there is a capacity of 100 people, over 120 people will come. What can we do, he asked.
This is a developing story and is being updated. Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/10/11-killed-as-train-catches-fire-near-rahim-yar-khan/