MULTAN: Rehman Baba Express derailed near Sher Shah Bridge early on Tuesday, killing at least five passengers and injuring 30 others, police said.
Rescue teams took injured passengers to Nishtar Hospital for treatment and continued searching the derailed coaches. Further details about the patients’ conditions were awaited.
Police said all 15 coaches left the tracks. The train was travelling from Karachi to Peshawar when the accident occurred.
Rescue officials said teams had cleared 13 coaches, while work continued in another carriage. They had not provided a complete account of the status of the remaining coaches. A passenger said the derailment occurred at about 5:15 am PKT.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the relevant authorities to accelerate rescue operations. He instructed them to ensure injured passengers received immediate treatment and the best available medical care without delay.
Sharif expressed concern for the injured and took note of the accident.
Separately, a passenger told reporters that workers had repaired nuts and bolts on coach number nine near Rohri before the derailment. His account concerned work carried out earlier in the journey.
PhotoNews could not independently verify the passenger’s claim or establish any connection between the reported repair and the accident.
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Officials have not yet established the cause of the derailment. No confirmed technical finding explains why the coaches came off the tracks.
Pakistan has suffered other fatal railway accidents. Hazara Express derailed near Nawabshah in Sindh on August 6, 2023, killing at least 30 people.
(With additional input from Geo News and Dawn)
