Disaster revisits Sukkur Division: Trains crash near Dharki kills 56

SUKKUR/ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/ NEWS DESK: Fifty-six passengers were killed and nearly 150 others injured when Sargodha-bound train Sir Syed Express collided with a derailed wagon of Millat Express lying on the track near Dharki in the Ghotki district early Monday morning. Railway traffic across the country came to a halt after the tragic incident.

The accident took place at around 03:30am when 17 Up Millat Express train — heading from Karachi to Sargodha — derailed and 36 Down Sir Syed Express train coming from Rawalpindi collided with one of its bogies lying mangled on the track.

Six coaches of Millat Express derailed and five coaches overturned, while two coaches of Sir Syed Express train derailed and three overturned. Fifty-six people were confirmed dead and over 150 injured. Locals immediately resumed the rescue operation.

The scene of the accident showed mangled, twisted and derailed wagons of the two trains strewn across the rail tracks, with passengers screaming for help, eye-witnesses reported. While some had managed to come out of the bogies on their own, several remained stuck and needed to be removed with engineering interventions, prompting police to fear that the death toll might mount, witnesses said.

SSP Ghotki Umar Tufail confirmed the death toll and said a list of the deceased was being compiled. He said 25 injured passengers were in critical condition. The driver of Sir Syed Express Ejaz Ahmed, who was accused of dozing off while steering the train through the volatile railway section beset with complex and multiple problems in the railway track and its signal system, said he tried to apply emergency brakes, but the locomotive did not stop and hit the infringing coaches of Millat Express in Ghotki. Ahmed denied reports of falling asleep on the wheel.

An injured passenger, who had been travelling on the train that derailed, recounted how one calamity led to another. “We felt as if we had been thrown away,” the man, who had a bandaged head, told a television reporter from the hospital, speaking of the initial derailing of his train. “The second train then hit our train that caused more damage,” he said.

Cries for help pierced the night as passengers climbed out of overturned or crushed rail cars, and continued to echo throughout the day at the scene in the district of Ghotki. Heavy machinery arrived to cut open some cars, and more than 15 hours after the crash, rescuers were carefully removing wreckage as they looked for anyone who might remain trapped.

Confirming the shoddy conditions of the rail track that has witnessed several accidents in the last two years, Federal Railways Minister Azam Swati said, “The railway track of Sukkur Division is extremely dangerous and DS refused to allow the trains to pass through three days ago.” But he did not say why traffic was allowed on that track. Swati sufficed by saying the derailment was apparently caused by a mechanical fault.

Geo News senior reporter Amin Hafiz said following the March train accident in Sukkur Division, the DS Railways had warned the senior railway management about the highly dangerous condition of the track, utter disarray of the signal system and the bad conditions of wagons. However, on June 4, (three days ago), Chief Engineer Railways responded to the DS by saying that budget had been sanctioned to get the work done. Three days later, the tragedy occurred. Since most of the upcountry traffic (Khi to northern destinations) passes from the Sukkur Railway Division at night, even slight negligence on the volatile track can cause terrible losses. “This is most likely to have happened,” sources told The Geo News.

Meanwhile, the black box of the train installed in the engine room has been retrieved, which will shed light on the nature and cause of the accident. The black box records the train speed to verify if the train was using correct speed defined for the track or was overspeeding, besides the condition and timing of the brakes as well as the train drivers communication.

According to Geo News, the alarming issue has been discussed at length in the railway meetings between the ministers, secretaries and other relevant departments but the big-money budget work involving installing track and signals was put off because any major investment in Sukkur Division was not feasible ahead of the ML-1 (CPEC train project) as it would be a mere waste of resources. However, maintenance budget was allocated to correct the flaw as and when it happens. The ML-1 is on papers eversince the CPEC was initially negotiated back in mid-2008, but no practice and work has been seen in that context. Now it is being said that the ML-1 would likely get underway in December 2021.

Chairman Pakistan Railways Habib-ur-Rehman Gilani said he was aware of the condition of the track where the accident took place. He said the permanent solution was ML-1 adding that it was not possible to make a big investment before ML-1.

Meantime, a relief train from Rohri carrying police and the local administration reached the scene and engaged in the rescue operation. Army Urban Search & Rescue team — carrying disc cutters, hydraulic spreaders, life locators and search cameras — flew from Rawalpindi and engaged in the relief and rescue operation, ISPR said in a statement. Rescue 1122 team from Rahim Yar Khan was engaged in the operation. Most of the injured were evacuated to hospitals in Rahim Yar khan, Ghotki and Mirpur Mathelo, while the serious patients were evacuated to Pano Aqil by helicopter.

General Officer Commanding Pano Aqil Garrison Major General Ghulam Shabbir Narejo and DG Rangers Sindh Iftikhar Hassan Chaudhry inspected the relief and rescue operation. An information desk has been set up at the DS Office Sukkur and Hyderabad Railway Station for passengers.

Divisional Superintendent Railways Sukkur Tariq Latif said the drivers and crew of both the trains were safe and a Grade 21 officer had been appointed by the railways minister to hold an inquiry. The railway authorities have announced Rs1.5 million each for the heirs of the deceased. Depending on the nature of injuries, the victims will be given a minimum of Rs100,000 and a maximum of Rs300,000.

Tariq Latif said the engineering wing of Pakistan Railways was working hard to restore the up and down traffic and expressed hope that the traffic would resume after 11:00pm.

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed their deep shock over the tragic accident and sympathised with the families of victims. President Alvi expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and prayed for the departed souls to rest in peace.

The prime minister in a tweet said he was “shocked by the horrific train accident at Ghotki early this morning.”

He directed Swati to reach the site and ensure medical assistance to the injured and support for the families of the dead. He also ordered a comprehensive investigation into the railway safety faultlines.

Swati pledged that he will personally investigate the accident after receiving the report adding that the derailment was apparently caused by a mechanical fault, as no automatic signal system was installed alongside the railway track. He said the automatic signal system should have been installed in 2008 but was yet to be done. The railway department has only seen theft during the last 30 to 40 years, said Swati, adding that he will take a strict action against the mafia in the railway department.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and expressed grief over the loss of many human lives.

Meanwhile, the opposition in the National Assembly demanded resignations of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati over the tragic accident.

“The prime minister who gave examples of the western democracy in the past and said a South Korea prime minister had quit after a boat capsized should immediately step down along with the railways minister,” PMLN leader Ahsan Iqbal said while speaking on a point of order.

At the outset of proceedings, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded a debate on the issue putting aside other items on the order of the day. He also demanded the resignation of the prime minister and minister for railways. “It is Imran Khan who used to say that if a train accident occurs, then the prime minister and railways minister are responsible for the same,” he said.

Bilawal regretted point-scoring and politics for the sake of politics on the tragic incident. He also called Ahsan Iqbal ‘Kaghzi’ leader (paper leader) for objecting that he (Ahsan) should have been given the floor first to raise the issue.

Bilawal said during a sub-committee meeting, it was informed that there were 13 spots on the railway track including the area where the accident occurred on Monday. “The government was told during the meeting that minister and federal secretary would be responsible in case of any tragedy,” he said. The House also offered fateha for the departed souls.

Ahsan said railways officials had already submitted a report on the deteriorated condition of railway track in the area where the two trains met the accident. “Why the track was not repaired timely on receiving the report?” Ahsan Iqbal said. He also questioned as to why the train drivers were given directions to slow down to less 40 kilometers per hour where, according to the report, the track was not in good condition.

He recalled that the PMLN government had allocated Rs43 billion for the railways sector, which was reduced to Rs16 billion by the PTI government. “If the development budget has been reduced, then how can the tracks be repaired?” he asked.

Leaping to the government’s defence, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said the incident was a result of negligence of the past governments of PMLN and PPP. The PMLN members also walked out of the House after Ahsan Iqbal was not given the floor to respond to Bilawal Bhutto’s criticism.

Defending the PMLN government, former railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said the Pakistan Railways was destroyed by reducing 65 percent development budget. “There is nothing they can do but lie,” he said and alleged that Sheikh Rashid and Fawad Chaudhry were doing politics on corpses. Saad said nothing had been done in the last three years except actions against the political opponents.

“These are liars. During the tenure of Sheikh Rashid, recruitments were made from Rawalpindi but during my tenure as federal minister for railways, no one from my constituency was given a job,” he said.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Dr Farogh Naseem, Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, PMLN President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, PPPP President Asif Ali Zardari, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and others expressed their deep sense of grief over the loss of many precious human lives and prayed for their spiritual elevation.