Tezgam inferno was caused by a short circuit, says Railways CEO

Pakistan Railways Chief Executive Officer Dost Muhammad Leghari on Wednesday revealed that the Tezgram inferno which killed over 70 passengers in October last year occurred due to a short circuit.

While talking to Geo News, the official revealed that the twelfth coach of the Tezgam Express caught fire after a short circuit in a wire of an electric kettle. He added that the coach was supplied electricity illegally from another coach.

Leghari revealed that cylinder blast took place after the fire had engulfed the coach. 

Also read: Death toll from Tezgam train fire climbs to 74

At least 74 people were killed and dozens injured on October 31 last year when the Tezgam train, travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi, caught fire near Rahim Yar Khan's Liaqatpur area. At the time of the incident, it was reported that the fire took place after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the coaches.

The Railways CEO shared that 15 officials have been suspended after an inquiry into the incident, including a deputy divisional superintendent, a commercial officer, and 15 others, over negligence in this regard.

In response to the remarks of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who had on Tuesday observed that Pakistan Railways should be closed down if it did not sort out its affairs, Leghari said that the department should not be closed as it connects all the four provinces. 

Also read: Tezgam fire eyewitness disputes Sheikh Rasheed's statement

Leghari added that Railway officers and workers will work together to improve the train journey for passengers across the country.

"Pakistan Railways is planning to add more freight trains to decrease the losses of the department. For the first time the organization was able to register a profit of five billion by increasing the number of passenger trains," he said.

The Railways department had also caught the ire of CJP Gulzar Ahmed on Tuesday.  "It is the most corrupt department," he had remarked during hearing of a case related to the losses.  The CJP had also remarked that Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed should have resigned after the incident.