December 18, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 13, 1423

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LAHORE, Dec 17: Two people died and 10 injured when a speeding train rammed into a stationary train near the Badami Bagh Railway Station here at 8am on Tuesday.

Police and railways officials said the 210-Dn, coming from Narowal, crashed into the rear of 206-Dn, coming from Sialkot. The 206-Dn had been halted at the outer signal a furlong away from the Badami Bagh Railway Station.

“It (206-Dn) was waiting for clearance to reach the Badami Bagh Station,” a railway spokesman said.

However, residents of the area told Dawn that trains coming from branch lines halted at the crash site frequently to unload different goods like vegetables and milk brought from small towns.

“We have to hold an inquiry to fix the responsibility,” the spokesman said about allegations of unauthorized stoppage.

“We heard a bang,” Tanveer Ali, who lives nearby, said. “We rushed to the spot and found passengers crying.” Initially, he said, nobody knew what had happened as smoke and dust engulfed the crash site. “Women and children were running helter-skelter.”

When the dust settled, residents found a coach perched on a locomotive. They said no body from the railways, police and other civic agencies turned up till 9:30am.

Majeed Ahmad, another Badami Bagh resident, said people had already launched the rescue work and they were later joined by the police and other civic agencies.

Some of the injured were taken out from the wreckage of the three compartments while others remained stuck up there for around two hours.

Syed Riaz Hussain, 30, a fireman of one of the trains, died on the spot. The injured were taken to different hospitals. Six of them were discharged after first-aid. Of the four critically injured, Rehmat Ali (35) of Muridke succumbed to his wounds.

Cranes were used to remove the damaged coaches from the track. The rail traffic remained suspended for over five hours before the track was cleared and repaired.

Senior officials of the Pakistan Railways, Punjab and Railways IGP, Punjab home secretary, Lahore city police chief and other senior officials visited the spot and supervised the rescue work.

Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Nazeer Ahmad told reporters the driver of the Narowal train was at fault. “He remained on the same track despite he had been signalled not to go ahead on this track,” Mr Nazeer said.

A Pakistan Railways press release said the driver and the guard of the other train had been suspended from service. A three-member committee comprising chief operating superintendent, chief mechanical engineer and chief engineer signals had been set up to investigate the causes of the crash, it added.

The driver, Khalilur Rehman, who is also among the injured and admitted to the Railways Karen Hospital, said that why he was allowed to leave the Shahdara Railway Station if the track was not clear.

Besides, he said, he could not see the stationary train due to mist. “I applied breaks as I spotted it but it was too late,” he said, adding had he not applied the breaks the loss would have been much higher.

APP ADDS: Compensation of Rs100,000 would be given to heirs of the deceased, and up to Rs50,000 would be provided to the injured, according to a PR announcement.