At least two passengers including a woman were killed and 40 injured, two of them critically, when nine coaches of the Lahore-bound Karachi Express derailed between Mando Dero and Sanghi railway stations late on Saturday night.The woman was identified as Uzma
According to initial reports, the 15-Up Karachi Express departed Rohri junction at around 1:15am. When the train reached near Sanghi nine of its bogies, including AC and Economy class coaches, derailed with a big bang. Independent sources confirmed the death of two passengers in Hospital who were in critical condition and another two are stated to be serious. However,local railway officials denied any casualty and said that only 14 passengers injured
As most of the passengers were asleep, the sudden accident created panic and harassment among them. Rescue work was started by passengers on a self-help basis. However, soon Edhi ambulances arrived at the scene of the accident and shifted the injured to the taluka hospital Rohri and civil hospital Sukkur.
media tried to collect details of the accident from Railway officials but no one was available on phone.
The train derailed between the Rohri and Sangi stations in the southern Sindh province on Sunday and caused a temporary suspension of railway traffic in both directions, said Kamran Lashari, a railway official.
The 18-car train that departed from Karachi for the eastern city of Lahore derailed and six fell into a shallow ditch, Lashari added.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers were on board and what caused the derailment.
Darkness and the remote location of the derailment caused delays in rescue efforts, rescue official Muhammad Arshad said, adding that the body of the woman who died and 40 injured passengers were taken to hospitals in nearby towns.
Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where successive governments have paid little attention to improving the poorly maintained signal system and ageing tracks.
Last month, at least 18 people, including women and children, were killed when a passenger train collided with a bus at a crossing in southern Pakistan.
