29 injured as passenger train hits into cargo train in Pakistan’s Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Twenty-nine people were injured when a passenger train collided with a cargo train in Pakistan’s east Punjab province on Sunday morning, state-run rescue organization Rescue 1122 said.

The incident happened at 4:30 a.m. (local time) due to possible negligence of the railway staff in Sheikhupura district of the province, Muhammad Ateeq, shift-in-charge of Rescue 1122 Headquarters in the provincial capital of Lahore, told Xinhua.

“The railway staff failed to switch the track for the passenger train and it kept moving on the track where the cargo train was already parked,” Ateeq said.

The passenger train was running at a low speed, which led to the low intensity of the crash, and most of the people got minor injuries in the accident, he added.

“Twenty-seven injured people were administered first-aid at the site while two critically injured were shifted to hospital,” he added.

Talking to Xinhua, sources from Pakistan Railways said that a team was investigating the cause of the accident at the site, and strict action will be taken if it turns out to be the negligence of the railway staff.

-Xinhua