19 killed as train plunges into canal in eastern Pakistan
At least 19 people, including four senior army officers, have lost their lives and several others sustained injuries after a train carrying soldiers fell into a canal in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab following the partial collapse of a bridge.
According to a statement released by the Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations, the mouthpiece of the Pakistani army, a total of 14 dead bodies have been recovered from the site of the Thursday incident near Gujranwala, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the provincial capital, Lahore, and divers are trying to recover five more dead bodies from the canal.
Government authorities said at least 80 people have been rescued, and that the injured people have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Gujranwala to receive medical treatment.
The incident occurred as the train, en route to the garrison town of Kharian from Pano Aqil, was crossing Chanawan Bridge. The military said four carriages of the train, which was carrying army personnel for a military exercise as well as military hardware, derailed.
Pakistani Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique told reporters that the incident may not have been accidental.
"There appears to be some other hand or reason. Apparently it could be due to a blast or deliberate loosening of the fishplates," he said, adding that a heavier train had crossed the same bridge an hour earlier without a problem.
"This bridge was inspected in December and January and it had no issues," he noted.
Pakistan maintains a poor railway system based on the British-era track and old coaches.
Fatal train crashes routinely take place in Pakistan as there are hundreds of unmanned rail crossings in the Asian country, and motorists speed through tracks without looking for oncoming trains.
MP/MHB/SS
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