BAHAWALPUR, March 15: Rail traffic on a damaged track near Sammsatta, about 15 kilometres from here, could not be restored till Saturday evening.

Eight coaches of the Khyber Mail derailed here on Friday evening, damaging 600 foot track and suspending all up and down line traffic. However, down the line rail traffic was restored six hours after the incident.

Railway crew were busy repairing the track on Saturday under the supervision of General Manager Asad Saeed and an official at the scene said the track was likely to be cleared for traffic by midnight.

In a related development, government inspector of railway Tariq Yasean visited the derailment site near the Sammsatta junction. Yasean is investigating the incident and is likely to submit to the authorities concerned an interim report on the accident within a few days, a source said.

The cause of the accident has not yet been ascertained although officials say it seems to be the result of a mechanical fault.

Officials said there were no casualties in the accident, but witnesses said passenger Saeeda died of a heart attack after the accident and some passengers suffered minor injuries.