ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Railways has told Pakistan Railways to expedite efforts to identify the victims of the Tezgam fire, which killed more than 76 people.

The federal government inspector of railways (FGIR) sought two weeks to investigate the incident, saying that sabotage could not be ruled out. He told senators that he would investigate along three lines: fire caused by a stove, the negligence of officials and sabotage.

More than 76 people were killed in the fire, which broke out on a train travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi near Rahimyar Khan on Oct 31.

FGIR says sabotage cannot be ruled out, seeks two weeks to continue investigation

The committee met at Parliament House with Senator Asad Ali Junejo in the chair. The meeting was attended by Railways officials, led by Secretary Raja Sultan, who presented a preliminary report prepared by FGIR Dost Mohammad Leghari.

Committee members said that people are caught between hospitals and Railways officials as they seek information on the status of their relatives’ bodies.

The Railways officials told the senators that DNA tests were only conducted in Lahore, and samples from the deceased and from passengers’ relatives had been collected. However, they said, matching the DNA samples would take between 10 to 12 days, after which they would start handing over the bodies of the deceased to their families.

Senator Junejo said the railways ministry should expedite this work to bring the wait to an end.

Some senators suggested shifting the bodies to Mirpur Khas, but Senator Junejo rejected the idea because many of the deceased were also from Karachi and Hyderabad.

The meeting was told that neither passenger trains nor freight trains have fire extinguishers on board. Officials said 20pc of passenger trains and 80pc of freighttrains lack any fire safety measures.

Members expressed concern over the absence of fire extinguishers in passenger trains, directing for them to be installed on trains and in stations without delay. They said such incidents would continue if fire safety equipment is not installed immediately.

The senators were also satisfied with the preliminary report presented to the committee regarding the investigation.

Senator Junejo postponed the formation of a subcommittee to investigate the incident, telling Dawn afterwards that the committee at present was satisfied with the investigation launched by Mr Leghari as he would give an impartial inquiry report.

He said the Railways police will present its own report separately and, if the committee finds it necessary, a subcommittee will be formed to investigate the matter further.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2019