On Thursday, tragedy struck the Karachi Express train when a fire broke out in one of its carriages, killing at least seven people, three of whom were children.
The incident happened on board the train travelling from Karachi to Lahore in the Khairpur district of Sindh.
Soon after midnight, the authorities learned of the fire in a business-class coach, which prompted them to stop the train near Tando Masti Khan station and call the fire brigade.
It took the fire-fighting crew 40 minutes to put out the blaze after they arrived at the scene at 1:50 in the morning.
Unfortunately, seven passengers had already perished as a result of the fire, and another four remain missing. Rabia Bibi, a 70-year-old passenger, died from her injuries after jumping from the burning coach.
The train’s journey resumed at 7:30am after the troubled carriage was eventually split off. The rescue operations were under the direction of DS Sukkur, DCO Sukkur, and other railway officials.
The Ministry of Railways has mandated an investigation into the incident in response to the tragedy. A team from the federal government’s inspector for railways has been sent to the scene, and the media will be made aware of the results of the investigation.
پریس ریلیز
کراچی ایکسپریس میں آگ لگنے کے واقعہ پر وزارت ریلوے کا نوٹس، تحقیقات کا حکم دے دیا۔ ٹرین کو متاثرہ بوگی علیحدہ کرنے کے بعد روانہ کر دیا گیا ہے۔
1/6
— Ministry of Railways, Govt of Pakistan (@RailwaysGovPk) April 27, 2023
This isn’t the first time something similar has happened. A cooking gas cylinder explosion that started a fire on a passenger train travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi in 2019 resulted in the deaths of 74 people.
The tragedy took place in the Rahim Yar Khan district of southern Punjab, and the fire quickly spread to two other train compartments, shocking many passengers.
Such incidents demonstrate the necessity of strict safety regulations being put in place and followed throughout the entire railway system in order to prevent further tragedies.
