Quetta-bound Jaffar Express derails near Gujranwala, five bogies overturn

GUJRANWALA: Quetta-bound Jaffar Express derailed near Aimanabad in Gujranwala on Tuesday.

“The passenger train derailed from the tracks, following which five bogies overturned,” a Geo News staffer M. Nadeem said.

As many as 25 people, including women and children, were injured in the accident. The train's engine and three passenger coaches remained on the track while seven were derailed.

According to railway authorities, repair work was on-going on the track since the past two days.

Pakistan Army troops and rescue teams have reached the site and rescue work is currently under way. Before the arrival of the teams, the passengers had engaged in self-help activities, according to Nadeem.

The railway authorities had also dispatched a train to take the passengers of Jaffar Express to Lahore. The passengers will be served food when they reach Lahore, said Pakistan Railways CEO Javed Anwar.

Arrangements to take passengers to Quetta from Lahore have also been made, he added.

Read more: Train collides with oil tanker in Sheikhupura

Earlier on March 28, at least two people were killed and 10 injured as Karachi-bound passenger train Shalimar Express collided with an oil tanker leading to a huge explosion late Monday night.

The engine and five bogies of the train, including the luggage compartment, and a power plant caught fire in the accident.  

The railway DS said the driver Abdul Lateef and his assistant, Abdul Hameed, lost their lives in the collision. 

Train accidents are not unheard of in Pakistan. During 2015-16 three major train accidents took place. On September 15 this year at least six people were killed and over 150 injured after Karachi-bound Awam Express collided with a freight train near Multan.

On November 17, 2015 at least 12 people were killed and over 100 injured when the locomotive and several bogies of Jaffar Express train derailed near Bolan area of Balochistan.

On July 2, 2015 four bogies of a special train carrying Pakistan military troops and their families to Kharian fell into a canal near Jamke Chattha in Gujranwala, killing two people and injuring 85.