KARACHI: At least 20 people were killed and 65 others injured when the speeding Zakaria Express slammed into Fareed Express at the Landhi Station here on Thursday morning.

According to eyewitnesses, Fareed Express was waiting at the station before it could move on to its last stop when Zakaria Express hit it from behind.

Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Labour Senator Saeed Ghani and federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique were among those who believed that this could only have happened due to carelessness on the part of Pakistan Railways (PR) officials as Zakaria Express must have been given a green signal to proceed ahead even though the other train was on the same track.

Most of those who died or got injured happened to be passengers of the stationary train.

The driver of Zakaria Express locomotive and his assistant were said to have gone missing.

It was not possible to determine the cause of the collision immediately, said PR’s divisional superintendent, Nasir Nazeer. “Therefore, we have formed an inquiry committee, comprising railway officers, to look into the matter and collect evidence,” he said.

“After completing the inquiry, we will take action and bring to justice whosoever is responsible for this. They will be duly punished.”

The accident took place at 7.25am, said most of the witnesses, who live in the small houses near the railway track in Landhi. They said they heard a very loud bang after which they came out of their homes and were confronted by terrifying scenes.

Waheed Zaman, the vice chairman of a union committee of Landhi, Malir District, said he reached the site of the accident at around 8am. “The people of the area were the first to help and rescue the injured. They also recovered the dead bodies before the ambulances and other responders could arrive,” he said.

“From what I have gathered, Fareed Express was to be put on another track before it could proceed to the Cantonment Station, Karachi. This hadn’t happened when the speeding Zakaria Express crashed into it,” he added.

Cranes and other heavy machinery as well as shovels and pickaxes were brought in to clear the track on which the collision took place.

The schedules of other trains got badly disturbed as a result of the blocked track as passengers on the platforms of the Cantonment Station waited for their trains to arrive.

“I have been waiting here for Karakoram Express for over two hours now. No one here, not even the information desk, seems to know the correct time of its arrival,” complained Khalida Parveen, who was standing on the station’s platform number 1.

“I have been waiting here since noon for Pakistan Express,” Naureen Kausar, who was standing there with her sister Rukhsana Kausar, told Dawn at about 4pm.

“Not all of us who are travelling by train have family in Karachi. The railway should at least offer us meals and some place to stay if the train is going to be delayed further,” she said.

“And if they can’t clear the track, they should offer us a refund.”

The injured were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Dr Seemin Jamali, the head of emergency ward at the hospital, said they initially received 65 people, some of whom were in a critical condition, along with 18 dead bodies. Later on, two of the seriously injured people died during treatment.

“It has been a horrendous day but we were ready the moment we heard about the terrible incident. The ones with head injuries have been moved to the neurosurgery trauma centre; one is in the ICU while several are being treated in the ER.

“Around 14 have been admitted to the orthopaedic ward. Many others with minor injuries have been treated and discharged,” she said.

The railway authorities had announced that emergency counters had been set up to facilitate the families of the victims at the Cantt and City stations in Karachi and in Hyderabad. But no such counter could be located at the Cantt Station in Karachi.

However, one could spot a couple of railway officials, who were sitting in front of a small coffee table and distributing copies of the list of the injured and dead prepared by the JPMC.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2016