ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The Pakistan Railways administration on Friday said that the last week’s train accident near Jhelum could either be an act of sabotage or criminal negligence on part of the maintenance staff.

The railways authorities put the number of dead in the accident at two with 36 passengers suffering injuries.

Speaking on the accident in the Senate, Railways Minister Mian Shamim Haider said that the inquiry report would be ready in next 10 days and presented before the house.

He disagreed with a suggestion that the Lahore Express had derailed owing to overspeeding, saying the 150-year-old tracks were unable to bear high speed.

According to preliminary inquiry, he said, the accident occurred due to tampering with or removal of two sets of fishplates on one of the rails deliberately about one hour before the train’s arrival between 6.15pm and 7.30pm.

On the same evening, he disclosed, two more sets of fishplates were tampered with on the Khairabad-Jehangira section on the line to Peshawar.

The minister said there could also be a possibility of criminal negligence on the part of the maintenance staff who failed to fix those fishplates during routine inspection. However, he pointed out, this was an unlikely conclusion as the railway staff did not work on tracks after 4.30pm.

He said the accident took place at 7.30pm at Domeli. Two passengers died and 36 others suffered injuries, of whom three were in critical condition.

The minister said that a better part of the tracks needed to be replaced and added that the upgradation of the entire railway system would cost around $5 billion.

He regretted that successive governments had ignored upgradation of the railway tracks.