ISLAMABAD, Oct. 31 -- At least 65 people were killed and 14 others injured after a passenger train caught fire in Rahim Yar Khan district of Pakistan's east Punjab province on Thursday, a rescue official and local reports said.
The death toll is feared to rise as rescue work continues to recover more bodies from the compartments gutted in the fire, Baqir Hussain, district emergency officer of state-owned Rescue 1122, told Xinhua.
He said that the injured people have been shifted to three hospitals in Rahim Yar Khan and neighboring Bahawalpur district where a state of emergency has been declared by authorities.
Army troops including doctors and paramedics also moved to the incident site for rescue and relief operation, and an army aviation helicopter has also been dispatched to the site to evacuate the critical injured, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.
The accident happened due to the explosion of a gas cylinder, which the passengers carried with them on the train. The blast took off when the passengers were preparing their breakfast on the cylinder after morning prayer, District Coordination Officer Pakistan Railways Nabila Aslam told Xinhua.
She said that the cylinder exploded in one of the bogies, but the big fire also engulfed two adjoining compartments within minutes. Some people tried to save their lives by jumping off the running train in which some of them got seriously wounded.
About 76 people were travelling in each of the bogies, and it is yet unascertained that how many people jumped off the train to save their lives, "but we can foresee that the death toll will sharply rise," she added.
Two economy class and one business class carriages of the train were affected in the train, the country's Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad told local media.
Aslam said that gas cylinders are not allowed in the train, but the passengers were hiding them in their bags, cheating the railway security team, while getting onboard.
The train Tezgam Express was on its way to Punjab's Rawalpindi from southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed sorrow over the incident and directed hospital authorities to provide best possible medical treatment to the injured people, the prime minister office said.
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 6 Design学案(北师大版)
2017届高三英语一轮复习语法精讲:专题1 冠词和名词(北师大版)
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 7 The Sea同步练习
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题9 正反解读动词的时态、语态
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题4 正反解读形容词、副词
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 16 Stories同步练习
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 19 Language同步练习
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题5 正反解读介词
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 15 Learning同步练习
2017届高考英语(北师大版)一轮复习综合训练(课件):Module 8 Unit 23 Conflict
2017全新教程高考英语总复习课件(北师大版广东专用):选修八Unit24
2017届高考英语(北师大版)一轮复习综合训练(课件):Module 8 Unit 24 Society
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 3 Celebration学案
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 1 Lifestyle学案(北师大版)
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题13 正反解读特殊句式
2017同步攻关高考英语一轮复习学案:语法部分 第11讲 倒装句
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题6 正反解读动词和动词短语
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 2 Heroes学案(北师大版)
2017届高考英语(北师大版)一轮复习综合训练(课件):Module 8 Unit 22 Environmental Protection
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 4 Cyberspace学案(北师大版)
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题10 正反解读定语从句
2017届高考总复习跟踪测评外研版:必修2 Module2《No Drugs》
【人教课标版】高考英语一轮复习 精品语法(课件):专题2 正反解读名词
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 9 Wheels同步练习
2017届高考总复习跟踪测评外研版:必修2 Module3《Music》
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 7 The Sea学案(北师大版)
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 9 Wheels学案(北师大版)
【北师大版】高中英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 10 Money学案
奥斯卡上演大乌龙 《爱乐之城》误抢《月光男孩》奖杯
2017届高三英语一轮复习讲练精品:Part I Unit 11 The Media学案(北师大版)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |