SHEIKHUPURA: The death toll in the train blaze near the Hiran Minar railway station has risen to three and the number of the injured to 10.

The casualties occurred after flames engulfed six carriages of the Karachi-bound Shalimar Express which had collided with an oil tanker at the level crossing near the railway station at around 12:15am on Tuesday.

Those who had witnessed the terrible collision said that the gateman near Nabipura station had been trying to shut the railway crossing gates when the driver of the oil tanker tried to make it across the railway line. However, the tanker’s axle gave away and the vehicle got jammed on the rail track. Several people in the area tried to help the driver move the vehicle away from the track but it refused to budge. The tanker was loaded to capacity and too heavy to move.

Younis, the gateman, then tried to inform the Sheikhupura station master and the Lahore central control office but failed to make contact. Younis started running towards the train waving his red shirt but neither the train driver nor his assistant spotted him.

Minister says initial report suggests accident occurred because tanker driver was in a rush to cross the track

The train slammed into the full oil tanker with a bang and a conflagration erupted.

A house near the rail track went up in flames as did the train’s coaches. Most of the passengers broke down the train windows and scrambled out in time.

However, Abdul Lateef, the train driver, his assistant Abdul Hameed and Bashir, who lived in the house that had caught fire, died on the spot.

The injured were taken to the Sheikhupura DHQ Hospital. Doctors said the condition of nine of those injured was stable.

However, Sadiq, one the injured, was taken to Mayo Hospital in Lahore because of his critical condition. Doctors on duty at the Mayo Hospital’s north surgical ward said Sadiq’s entire body had been burnt.

Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique said a thorough probe would be held into the accident, although preliminary reports suggested that it had occurred because the tanker driver had been in a hurry.

He said Rs6.2 million would be given to the train driver’s family and Rs5.9 million to the family of the assistant driver. He said their families would continue to live in their official quarters for the number of service years left for the deceased.

Sheikhupura police have taken oil tanker’s driver and the gateman into custody for interrogation.

The accident led to a suspension of rail traffic to and from Lahore for more than 15 hours.

A railway team finally managed to partially restore traffic on the track at around 8pm on Tuesday, allowing passenger trains to run at a speed of 10km per hour.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2017