Pakistan: at least 30 dead in a train accident

 Eva Deschamps /June 7, 2021

At least 30 people were killed and dozens injured Monday in a train accident in southern Pakistan, police said.

According to a Pakistan Railways official, the train, which was coming from Karachi, derailed near Daharki, in the north of Sindh province, before being hit by another train coming in the opposite direction.

Umar Tufail, a police official in Daharki, reported an initial confirmed death toll of at least 30 in the accident.

The derailed Millat Express connects the major port of Karachi to Sargodha.

Several people were killed and many others are still trapped inside, the Pakistan Railways official told AFP, adding that rescue workers were working on site.

Cell phone footage shows a tangle of metal debris and several overturned green Pakistan Railways cars.

Railway accidents are common in Pakistan, which has inherited thousands of kilometers of track and trains from the colonial era under the British Empire.

But the network suffers from decades of neglect due to corruption, poor management and lack of investment.