SAHIWAL: An elderly woman and her minor granddaughter were fatally struck by the Karachi-bound Al-Farid Express near Chak Azmat Paka Sudhar, Tehsil Pakpattan, on Thursday.

As per eyewitnesses, 60-year-old Marriam Bibi rushed onto the railway track in a desperate attempt to save her five-year-old granddaughter, Insha, who had wandered onto middle of the tracks while playing. Both were hit by the speeding express train before they could escape out from the track.

Local villagers were the first to arrive at the scene. Both victims sustained severe head injuries and fractured legs, and succumbed to their wounds on the spot.

Rescue 1122 teams responded promptly but declared both dead upon arrival. Marriam’s husband, Bashir Ahmed, and Insha’s father, Javed, received condolences from neighbours and relatives.

The family declined to shift the bodies to the hospital, opting instead for immediate burial.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025