SANGHAR, May 5: Three persons were killed and more than 50 others were injured when the Rawalpindi-bound 5-up Tezrau derailed near the Khudabad railway crossing, about half a kilometre from Tando Adam railway station on Wednesday afternoon.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Shahdadpur and Tando Adam. Four bogies of the train overturned and fell into a ditch and six were damaged. The wheels of almost all other bogies were thrown away along with axles and frames. A portion of the railway track was also damaged.
Talking to newsmen, some of the injured passengers alleged that railway police posted on the train to protect passengers stole their belongings. A number of passengers also indulged in the looting, they said.
Some eyewitnesses said the train was at a high speed at the sharp turn near the crossing, but the driver Muhammad Asghar, said that he applied brakes when after having negotiated the turn he saw that parts of the track ahead were twisted. But it was too late.
Guard Mohammad Ismail said that while approaching the Tando Adam railway station, he saw a fall of dust over the track and felt strong jerks. The train stopped and he used crackers to alert the railway staff at the station and also informed them on the wireless to stop the traffic from the other direction.
Station Master Ehsanul Haq told newsmen it was too early to say anything about the cause of the accident. He said that all up and down trains had been stopped at Tando Adam, Nawabshah and Hyderabad.
Some traffic, he said, would be restored by Thursday but repairs and replacement of the damaged track and complete restoration of the railway traffic would take at least one week.
M.H. Khan adds from Hyderabad: Fourteen injured passengers were brought to the Civil Hospital where an emergency was declared. A list of the injured has been displayed at the hospital.
Railway officials ordered suspension of the up and down country traffic. The Rawalpindi-bound Tezrau had left Hyderabad on schedule at 1 pm. Passengers of the Faisalabad-bound Super Express which had arrived at the Hyderabad railway station and was to leave at 2.45 pm faced a lot of inconvenience in the sweltering heat.
The authorities have decided to refund the cost of tickets to passengers of Tezrau. The upcountry trains that have been halted at Hyderabad, Kotri and Karachi railway stations included the Karakoram, Allama Iqbal, Tezgam and Karachi Express.
