Jaffar Express derails in Bolan district; 16 killed, 150 injured
* Incident happened after brakes of the train failed *Driver of the train and his assistant among those dead

QUETTA: At least 16 people were killed and over 150 injured when four bogies of the Jaffar Express derailed in Ab-i-Gum area of the Bolan district on Tuesday.

“Four carriages of the Rawalpindi-bound train which left Quetta Railway station were derailed near Ab-i-Gum area of Bolan district, some 75 kilometres from Quetta city,” said Akbar Hussain Durrani, the home secretary of Balochistan.

“The incident happened after brakes of the train failed.” The dead included the driver of the train and his assistant.

The victims were shifted to hospitals in Quetta where an emergency was declared. A quick reaction force of FC Balochistan along with ambulances reached at the site of the train accident for rescue operation, read a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Two MI-17 helicopters of Pakistan Army flew from Quetta for the rescue operation, the statement added. In an update released by ISPR, 47 injured passengers were shifted to Combined Medical Hospital (CMH) Quetta using Pakistan Army’s MI-17 helicopters.

Another 14 injured passengers were also shifted to CMH Quetta by army ambulances. FC troops also shifted 63 injured passengers to Mach hospital.

Among the dead so far confirmed are 12 passengers, the train driver and his assistant, and two members of the railway police, Durrani said.

He praised the residents of a nearby village who helped with the rescue efforts.

Faiz Bugti, a senior official of the railways department, and head of local community police Tariq Zehri also confirmed the accident and casualties.

Train services between Balochistan and the rest of the country have been restored.

Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch inspected the spot of the accident through helicopter. He ordered the relevant authorities to provide all facilities to the victims of the train who were injured in the incident.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is on a two-day official visit to Uzbekistan, expressed deep grief and offered his condolence over the loss of innocent lives in the incident, said a statement issued by his office.

The prime minister further directed the authorities concerned to provide better medical facilities to those injured.

This is not the first time that the Rawalpindi-bound train has met with an accident. Earlier this month, four people were killed and another eight injured when the train hit a home-made bomb planted on a railway track in Mastung district of Balochistan. An improvised explosive device (IED) was remotely detonated when the Jaffar Express chugged into Dasht tehsil of Mastung, 30 kilometres south of Quetta.

Earlier on June 6, the train was returning to Quetta when an explosion derailed four of its carriages near the Jacobabad district jail, leaving eight people injured. No group immediately had claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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