33 dead, over 80 injured as 10 coaches of passenger train derail in Pakistan

At least 33 people were killed and 80 were injured in Pakistan, after 10 bogies of the Rawalpindi-bound Hazara Express overturned as the train derailed.

The accident happened near the Sahara Railway Station, located between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah on Sunday, reported Geo TV.

The Hazara Express was headed to Rawalpindi from Karachi.

“Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments,” Deputy Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Mahmood Rehman said, adding that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

Visuals showed rescue workers and police trying to pull out people from the derailed compartments along with civilians who also joined the rescue work.

The affected people were shifted to the People’s Medical Hospital in Nawabshah, as reported by Geo TV. According to the officials, the exact reason behind the derailment is not yet known.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that “mechanical fault or sabotage” may have caused the accident. An Emergency protocol has been imposed in nearby hospitals following the accident.