Dawn :
At least 30 people were killed and several others injured after multiple bogies of the Hazara Express derailed near the Sarhari Railway Station near Nawabshah on Sunday afternoon.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who spoke to the media at People’s Medical College Hospital in Benazirabad – the district home to Nawabshah, confirmed the death toll.
He added that the injured could be shifted to Karachi if needed and directed the local administration and health officials to expedite relief and rescue efforts.
According to Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, the accident occurred at 1:18pm and around 1,000 passengers were travelling in the Hazara Express.
Earlier, Pakistan Railways Sukkur Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Mohsin Siyal said that an unknown number of bogies had derailed in the incident.
“Some people are reporting that five bogies had derailed, some are saying eight have derailed and some are saying 10 have derailed,” he said.
DawnNewsTV reported that the train was headed to Rawalpindi from Karachi.
Footage aired on TV showed a large number of passengers gathered near the derailed bogies, some of which were laying on their sides.
At the accident site, dozens of cars, tractors, rickshaws and motorcycles could be seen parked on a road that runs alongside the track.
Volunteers were wading through a canal that separates the road from the railway line to help, and lifting the injured to get them assistance.