MUZAFFARGARH: The Rawalpindi-bound Thal Express coming from Multan narrowly escaped an accident near the Mahmood Kot Railway Station, 20km from Muzaffargarh city, when some youths opened 15 joints of the track to steal iron.

The incident happened at 3am when the locals found the thieves stealing the joints and damaging the tracks. They called the railway staff and made fire on the track to warn the driver who applied the emergency brakes of the train to stop it.

Three young men managed to escape and one was caught by the locals who called the railways patrol team, including Moeen and Ghulam Mustafa, and handed over the suspect to them.

The train continued its journey very slowly at the damaged portion as the department gave it clearance after repairing the damaged track.

Budh station master Malik Muhammad Ayub said the case was referred to police who were looking into the matter.

There is a practice by thieves who would steal the railway line joints as each joint weighed more than 8kg, according to a railways official.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2024