HYDERABAD: Eighteen people were injured when one bogie of the Karachi-bound Shalimar Express (Night Coach) overturned and another derailed near the Detha railway station on Saturday.

Hyderabad railway station superintendent Shamsuddin Solangi said the cause of the accident could not be ascertained immediately. PR chief controller office in Karachi said that it was a private service train, 44-Down, which was scheduled to reach Hyderabad at 11.10am but was a bit late.

The accident took place at about 11.45am.

Mr Solangi said a crane was made available to the PR workers at 1.10pm for the removal of the bogie and clearance of the track after necessary repairs. The work was under way when last reports came in late in the evening.

He said that the bogie that overturned carried two guards, besides passengers, and the other one that derailed carried only passengers. He said the derailed bogie was put on the track and taken to the station.

A large number of ambulances rushed to the spot to transport the injured victims to the Liaquat University Hospital’s city branch.

Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Jatoi said that except for one passenger, who was admitted to the hospital’s ICU, the condition of all the injured victims was stated to be stable.

However, Mr Solangi said that the two railways guards, Budho Khan and Mohammad Razzaque, received serious injuries in their arms. The other victims were identified as Abdul Hameed, Shabana, Mohammad Shahbaz, Ruqqaya, Nusrat, Zainab, Iqbal Bibi, Fatima, Khalid, Aneel, Nosheen, Samina, Rahib, Mohammed Kashif, Tanvir, Mohammed Ghafoor and Shaban.

According to onlookers, some other passengers were also injured in the accident but they left and did not report at the hospital.

According to PR officials, since only the down track was damaged, the rail traffic, including upcountry services, remained unaffected.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play