BAHAWALPUR, Feb 4: A woman was killed and 37 were injured after 10 coaches of the Lahore- bound Karakoram Express derailed with four of them being overturned on early Saturday.

The derailment, which railway officials termed sabotage, occurred at 3:15am between Samasatta and Kalanchwala railway stations, about 30 kilometres from here.

The four overturned bogeys included two air-conditioned lower class, one economy class coaches and a dinning car. They fell off the eight-foot high track embankment.

Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud crash as the train derailed. They said local police officials were the first to reach the spot, followed by Edhi ambulances, whose personnel started the rescue operation. A number of passengers were pulled out after breaking the coaches’ window-panes.

The police helped passengers, who were not badly hurt, to proceed to their respective destinations soon after the accident. They were taken to a nearby road and put on buses.

At least 25 Edhi ambulances arrived at the scene of the accident from nearby locations to help transport the injured to hospitals.

Emergency was declared at the Bahawal Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur after 32 injured passengers were brought to the hospital. Six of the injured were admitted because of the seriousness of their injuries.

By afternoon, only three of the injured, namely, Mustaqim of Karachi and Shahid Ahmed Siddiqi and Shaheen Bibi of Samanabad, Lahore, remained in the hospital for treatment while the other three left for their respective homes.

Some passengers said they could not get out of their coaches as most of the doors were locked down owing to an auto-locking system. Finally, they exited the derailed coaches after breaking their windows.

Sabira Bibi, 55, of Lahore, who was travelling along with her sons and daughters succumbed to her injuries on the way to the Bahwal Victoria Hospital. Her sons told reporters that she was a heart patient and probably died of shock.

Contrary to the railways officials’ version, some of the technical staff blamed over-speeding for the accident. They, however, refused to rule out mechanical faults.

Railways officials and the state minister claimed that fish plates of the railway track had been removed as nuts and bolts were found removed by alleged saboteurs. It was not possible to immediately confirm the veracity of the claim but the track beneath the derailed coaches was observed to have been uprooted.

Locomotive driver Muhammad Sarwar also echoed fears of sabotage and said that the likely cause of the accident was the alleged removal of fish plates.

The railway track from Lahore to Karachi was opened to traffic five hours after the accident. However, the other track could not be opened till the filing of this report. Officials said it might be repaired by tomorrow.

Minister of State for Railways Ishaq Khan Khakwani visited the scene of the accident and cited sabotage as the cause of the accident.

However, the minister said that a probe would be held into the causes of the derailment.

APP adds: Ishaq Khakwani said that heirs of the deceased would receive compensation amounting to Rs200,000 while seriously injured passengers would get Rs100,000 and those with minor injuries Rs20,000 each.

Later, Railways Minister Shamim Haider also inspected the scene and discussed the matter with the PR officials.

He ordered an inquiry into the accident and announced Rs200,000 for the family of the deceased woman and Rs50,000 for each of the injured.