65 people dead, 40 injured as train erupts in flames
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is in a sombre mood after at least 65 people died while 40 others have been left nursing serious injuries when a passenger train erupted in flames.
The unfortunate accident happened on Thursday near the town of Rahim Yar Khan in the south of the Punjab province.
The train was travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi.
According to the local media in Pakistan, the cause of the fire was a gas cylinder explosion, the gas was being used by passengers to cook food.
“Two cooking stoves blew up. They were cooking, they had (cooking) oil which added fuel to fire,” Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, minister for railways, said.
The fatal blaze, spread in at least three carriages.
Most of the people succumbed as they were trying to jump off the burning wagons.
According to police reports, the number of death may still rise.
If history is anything to go by, Pakistan has experienced more heart wretching train accidents in the past, most recently in 2007 where 56 people died and more than 120 were left injured in a crash near Mehrabpur.
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