More than 30 people killed, many injured in Pakistan train crash

At least 36 people were killed and dozens injured on Monday (Jun 7) when a packed Pakistani inter-city train ploughed into carriages from another train that had earlier derailed, officials said.

An unknown number of people were still trapped in the tangled wreckage near Daharki in northern Sindh province, a railway spokesman said, adding rescue workers had called urgently for specialist equipment so they could be reached.

“The site is far and that’s why we are facing some trouble in the rescue work, he said, adding at least six wagons were destroyed in the accident.

The spokesman said the accident happened when the Millat Express heading from Karachi to Sargodha, derailed before dawn, spilling onto a track carrying the Sir Syed Express from Rawalpindi in the opposite direction.

At least 30 dead had been transported to surrounding hospitals, and rescuers were still trying to access a coach where about 25 people were believed to be trapped, senior district police official Umar Tufail told local television channel Geo News. Huge crowds of people gathered around the carnage of several overturned Pakistan Railways carriages, some climbing on top of the mangled wreckage in an attempt to reach survivors and bodies, in footage aired by local media.

Villagers were the first to rush to the site, with rescue workers later trying to cut their way through shredded and protruding metal.