Three Trains Crash with 100s dead, injured in Pakistan
Pakistan Times Wire Service

KARACHI: Three passenger trains collided near Ghotki in southern Pakistan, killing and wounding hundreds of people in pre-dawn hours today, Wednesday.

The Karachi Express first hit the stationary Quetta Express near Ghotki, almost 300 miles away from the coastal city of Karachi in Sindh province, Mohammad Ashraf, a local railways official said.

A third train, the Tez Gam Express, then ploughed into the wreckage.

"We have received reports of many casualties in the wake of the incident. Teams have been sent there for a relief operation," he said.

As initial reports indicate, there could be more than 100 casualties. At least 20 carriages were destroyed in the collision.

Officials also confirmed there were many casualties after a crash between three trains in Sindh.

"There are many dead or injured. A rescue operation is ongoing," an official said.

Meanwhile, another report puts the death figure at 120.

"So far, we have taken out at least 120 bodies," police official Shabbir Billo was quoted as saying from near the scene of the crash.

A train coming from the eastern city of Lahore hit another train near Ghotki station. A third train then plouged into the derailed carriages, police said.

Nineteen carriages were derailed in all, police said, by adding; it was too early to determine the cause of the crash. 'In my view it was a technical mistake,' Ghotki police chief viewed.

The accident occurred at about 04:00 hours [23:00 GMT] when a train sitting at a station near Ghotki, in southern Sindh province, was rear-ended by a second train, said Abdul Aziz, a senior controller at Pakistan Railways.

The collision caused several carriages to derail and spill over onto another track, where they were struck by a third train, causing further derailment.

"It is a very gruesome situation," local police chief Agha Mohammed Tahir said, adding; "Rescue workers have started to pull the dead and injured out. There were many people inside and there are a lot of casualties."

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