At least 22 killed as train crashes into coach carrying Sikh pilgrims near Sheikhupura: police

[Abdullah719]

At least 15 people have been killed in a crash between a coaster and the Shah Hussain Express train near Sheikhupura, a statement by the Railways Ministry said.

At least eight people have been injured in the accident, all of whom are being shifted to District Headquarters Hospital, Sheikhupura, according to Rescue 1122 officials. The bodies are also being shifted to the DHQ hospital.

Rescue officials from both Railways and Rescue 1122 have arrived at the scene of the accident and are providing first aid to the injured, the statement added. All divisional officials have been directed to arrive at the crash site.

Sheikhupura DPO Mohammad Ghazi Salahuddin also confirmed the death toll.

The accident occurred around 1.30pm at a crossing near Sheikhupura that was reportedly unmanned. Following the accident, the divisional engineer was suspended by the ministry, the statement said.

According to the DPO, the passengers in the coaster were Sikh Yatrees who were returning from Nankana Sahib to Peshwar.

Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid has ordered authorities to take immediate action against those responsible for the accident.

Prime Minister Imran Khan regretted the train accident, according to a tweet by the ruling PTI. He expressed grief at the loss of lives and directed authorities to provide the best medical aid to the injured.

The incident comes four months after a bus crossing an unmanned railway crossing near Rohri in Sindh was crushed by the Lahore-bound Pakistan Express train coming from Karachi, killing at least 19 people and leaving more than 30 injured.

Last year had proven to be one of the worst years for Pakistan Railways and its huge number of passengers as a number of accidents, including the horrible Tezgam fire tragedy in October, exposed wrong decision-making and incompetence allegedly on the part of the management while dealing with the department’s operations.

“Over 100 train-related incidents, including some fatal accidents, took place in 2019. Besides this, 111 incidents of engine failure on the way were reported within first five months of the year alone,” an official source had earlier told Dawn.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1566761/a...tween-coaster-train-near-sheikhupura-railways

 

[IAJ]

Inna lillahi wa inna laihi rajioon.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Deeply saddened at the accident this afternoon at a railway crossing near Sheikhupura which resulted in the death of atleast 20 people, mainly Sikh pilgrims returning from Nankana Sahib. Have directed that proper medical care be provided to the injured.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1279013215104643073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My condolences and prayers go to the families of the deceased. Have directed relevant authorities to ensure facilitation and care for all the families. Our entire railway's operational safety SOPs will be reviewed immediately.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1279013219315695617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

Why was the railway crossing unmanned?

 

[Abdullah719]

Surely Sheikh Rasheed needs to explain why so many accidents are happening under his watch...

 

[uberkoen]

11 July 2019 Sadiqabad Railway Accident. 24 dead.
31 October 201 Tezgam Fire Incident. 71 dead.
29 February 2020 Sukkur Train and Bus Collision. 19 dead.

and now this. How many more people will have to die before we stop launching inquiries after each accident and ask the minister what he is doing.

Didn't Imran Khan say that leaders who have self-respect resign over the smallest accidents? Waiting for your resignation or action Khan Saab. Actions speak louder than words.

 

[owais1]

Failure at all levels:

Those crossing employees are paid but dont do their job. Enjoying the free income they receive.

The incompetent railway minister enjoying his position, but doing nothing for railway safety.

Pakistan is doomed under civillian leadership. Not one political party is able to run the country well, without filling just their pockets.

 

[Firebat]

“Over 100 train-related incidents, including some fatal accidents, took place in 2019. Besides this, 111 incidents of engine failure on the way were reported within first five months of the year alone,” an official source had earlier told Dawn.

How is that not an immediate red flag that something is wrong, that something must be done? Or must we always wait for 100s of people to die before they realise perhaps there's an issue?

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Initial Report on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrainAccident?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrainAccident</a> in Shiekhupura:<br>* 30 persons were returning back to Peshawar from Nankana Sahib<br><br>* Passed Away: 13 Male and 7 Females (19 Sikh Pilgrims, 1 Driver) <br>* Minor injuries = 10 persons<br><br>Dead Bodies are being shifted to Mayo Hospital Lahore</p>— Government of Punjab (@GOPunjabPK) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPunjabPK/status/1279048887681064962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[angrypathan]

Absolute tragedy. Condolences to the victims and their families

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ur" dir="rtl">شیخوپورہ ٹرین حادثہ میں زخمی ہونے والے سکھ یاتریوں کے علاج ان کو پشاور پہنچانے اور مرنے والوں کی آخری رسومات کے تمام انتظامات حکومت کر رہی ہے۔ سکھ رہنما کی میڈیا سے گفتگو <a href="https://t.co/cGx3Y2f4bC">pic.twitter.com/cGx3Y2f4bC</a></p>— Government of Punjab (@GOPunjabPK) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPunjabPK/status/1279062351581503490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Mamoon]

"I think the Railway Minister should resign. Anywhere in the world, whenever there is a railway accident, the minister resigns because unless he does so, there cannot be any proper inquiry, and this isn't the first time it has happened".

Imran Khan in 2017.

 

[Mamoon]

11 July 2019 Sadiqabad Railway Accident. 24 dead.
31 October 201 Tezgam Fire Incident. 71 dead.
29 February 2020 Sukkur Train and Bus Collision. 19 dead.

and now this. How many more people will have to die before we stop launching inquiries after each accident and ask the minister what he is doing.

Didn't Imran Khan say that leaders who have self-respect resign over the smallest accidents? Waiting for your resignation or action Khan Saab. Actions speak louder than words.

Imran can only give words to the nation. As I have said many times, Naya Pakistan is the biggest scam this country has ever seen.

If he was in the opposition, he would be demanding Sheikh Rasheed’s resignation. The youth brigade would also be shouting at the top of their lungs and using all kinds of expletives.

 

[sweep_shot]

This is a very sad incident.

A proper investigation is needed.

 

[King_Kohli]

Very sad and unfortunate.
Om Shanti

 

[Syed1]

"I think the Railway Minister should resign. Anywhere in the world, whenever there is a railway accident, the minister resigns because unless he does so, there cannot be any proper inquiry, and this isn't the first time it has happened".

Imran Khan in 2017.

Yes this statement was made in 2017, and in 2018 with full consciousness you went ahead and stamped on the symbol of bat on the ballot paper.

 

[Syed1]

Inna lillahi wa inna illahi rajioon. Again a bus driver thinking they are not driving a slow bus instead they are driving a Ferrari, trying to take a shortcut over the railway line. I hope to God strict action is taken against people responsible for this negligence.

 

[chinaman00]

Imran Khan tweets on train crashes under his government:

7/10/2019

https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1149167717599121409?s=21

10/31/2019

https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1189794580058791937?s=21

It is about time people start holding PTI government whose incompetence can no longer be justified on the grounds of PPP/PML’s decades long incompetence. Stop making justifications and excuses for what’s so far been an extremely below expectation performance from PTI.

 

[Bewal Express]

This is a terrible tragedy. I hope we find out why and the persons that are negligent are prosecuted and jailed.

 

[Bewal Express]

Imran can only give words to the nation. As I have said many times, Naya Pakistan is the biggest scam this country has ever seen.

If he was in the opposition, he would be demanding Sheikh Rasheed’s resignation. The youth brigade would also be shouting at the top of their lungs and using all kinds of expletives.

Uncle Tom, you just wait for people to die and then you just throw mud and hope you score points. What happens if the driver of the bus was at fault?

 

[King-Misbah]

Imran Khan tweets on train crashes under his government:

7/10/2019

https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1149167717599121409?s=21

10/31/2019

https://twitter.com/imrankhanpti/status/1189794580058791937?s=21

It is about time people start holding PTI government whose incompetence can no longer be justified on the grounds of PPP/PML’s decades long incompetence. Stop making justifications and excuses for what’s so far been an extremely below expectation performance from PTI.

Stop jumping to conclusions, the bus driver could be at fault.

 

[Hitman]

Horrific tragedy. RIP to the unfortunate victims.

 

[Mamoon]

Uncle Tom, you just wait for people to die and then you just throw mud and hope you score points. What happens if the driver of the bus was at fault?

"I think the Railway Minister should resign. Anywhere in the world, whenever there is a railway accident, the minister resigns because unless he does so, there cannot be any proper inquiry, and this isn't the first time it has happened".

Imran Khan, 2017

___________________

Do you see any mention of who is at fault and who isn’t?

Imran categorically stated that there cannot be any proper inquiry unless the railway minister resigns.

So whether it was the bus driver’s fault or not will be determined only after Sheikh Rasheed resigns.

So when will Sheikh Rasheed hand over his resignation? Or will your fake messiah once again go back on his own words?

 

[Mamoon]

Stop jumping to conclusions, the bus driver could be at fault.

But Imran said that there cannot be any proper inquiry unless the railway minister resigns? So when will Sheikh Rasheed resign?

 

[IMMY69]

What a horrible tragedy.

RIP to the victims and strength to their friends and family.

The second tragedy is when a site like this allows people to use a thread like this to score political points.

It’s happening too often and that’s why I now try and steer clear of threads like these.

If you want to have a go at politicians then start a new thread

 

[Bewal Express]

"I think the Railway Minister should resign. Anywhere in the world, whenever there is a railway accident, the minister resigns because unless he does so, there cannot be any proper inquiry, and this isn't the first time it has happened".

Imran Khan, 2017

___________________

Do you see any mention of who is at fault and who isn’t?

Imran categorically stated that there cannot be any proper inquiry unless the railway minister resigns.

So whether it was the bus driver’s fault or not will be determined only after Sheikh Rasheed resigns.

So when will Sheikh Rasheed hand over his resignation? Or will your fake messiah once again go back on his own words?

Uncle Tom, already the he has proved with the PIA that a proper enquiry can be held and the Minister didn't resign. He should have added that unless the PM has a clean Niyaat. Its about Niyaat and yours is not clean. The more you play politics of lashay, the more humiliation there is for.

 

[Bewal Express]

But Imran said that there cannot be any proper inquiry unless the railway minister resigns? So when will Sheikh Rasheed resign?

But IK himself held on the PIA, and contrast that with Air Blue. If the PM is IK you can. Can you give me a link to the air blue tragedy.

 

[saeedhk]

What has Sheikh Rasheed done to improve Pakistan’s railway Infrastructure?How many railway crossings has he fixed? How much fence has he added to railway tracks?

Pakistan Railway is in a horrible state. There are no barriers or fences next to railway tracks, the tracks are littered with garbage and people hang around railway tracks and play ludo and cricket on them.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

There never has been and possibly will never be any accountability in anything in Pakistan. Every day there are these incidents happening but there isn't any process or any sort of accountability held by anyone.

Every sector has been down trodden in the past 2 decades by the governments who help power and there has been zero interest in making these public sectors worth using.

Lahore is just happy that the PMLN has made them under pass and motor ways as that is usually the only thing that is needed to be done to keep the economy alive and nothing else matters.

PPP has not done anything of note either in all the times that they held government.

As for PTI, they got the control way too late when the whole country is a right mess with every sector demolished by the rule of law.

 

[Mamoon]

Uncle Tom, already the he has proved with the PIA that a proper enquiry can be held and the Minister didn't resign. He should have added that unless the PM has a clean Niyaat. Its about Niyaat and yours is not clean. The more you play politics of lashay, the more humiliation there is for.

But IK himself held on the PIA, and contrast that with Air Blue. If the PM is IK you can. Can you give me a link to the air blue tragedy.

Thank you, that is what I wanted to hear from you.

These rules that Imran laid out himself are meant for mere mortals and not divine figures like Imran.

So all these tall claims that Imran made are not applicable to him. Whatever he does is justified and the right thing to do by definition.

You are perfectly demonstrating how cult-followers operate.

I of course knew about this but wanted you to admit it.

 

[MRSN]

"I think the Railway Minister should resign. Anywhere in the world, whenever there is a railway accident, the minister resigns because unless he does so, there cannot be any proper inquiry, and this isn't the first time it has happened".

Imran Khan in 2017.

Imran Khan is as fake as they come. He said all these nice things to get power. Now he has forgotten what he said before getting power. Now his aim is only to take accountability of people he does not like.

 

[MenInG]

Two trains have collided in the Khanpur area of Punjab, according to a statement from Pakistan Railways.

According to a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways, a Shalimar Express train, travelling from Karachi to Lahore collided with Down 502 cargo train at 4:10pm near the Jheeta Bhatta railway station.

The spokesperson added that the train's driver and assistant driver were "mildly injured" in the collision while all the passengers remained safe. He added, however, that two coaches of the cargo train were damaged while the front trolley of Shalimar Express' front engine was derailed.

The end-down track has been "completely blocked" as a result of the collision, the spokesperson said.

The divisional superintendent Multan has left for the location of the accident on the directions of the Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Railways Dost Ali Leghari. All divisional officers and rescue officials have also left for the scene of the accident and rescue operations will be completed within three to four hours, the spokesperson added.

The Railways CEO has formed an inquiry committee comprising three senior officers to probe the latest accident involving trains. The body will submit its initial report to the CEO within 48 hours, the spokesperson said.

Following the accident, Leghari ordered the immediate suspension of the Multan divisional transportation officer (DTO) and Multan divisional security commissioner. He also directed officials to take action as per the law against the persons responsible for the accident, according to the statement.

The incident comes a day after a train rammed into a passenger coach at the railway track passing through Sucha Soda, a small town near Farooqabad in Sheikhupura district, killing 22 people including 20 Sikh pilgrims, a driver and his helper.

The tragic incident, when also left nine people injured, took place at a small unmanned level crossing/passage, just about 100 feet away from a manned level crossing at the track.

PAF aircraft carrying bodies of train accident victims lands in Peshawar

Meanwhile, a Pakistan Air Force aircraft carrying the bodies of the 21 Sikh Yatrees and the driver who were killed in yesterday's train accident landed at Peshawar airport on Saturday (today) evening, Radio Pakistan reported.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1566969/2...-train-collides-with-cargo-train-near-khanpur

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SheikhupuraTrainAccident?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SheikhupuraTrainAccident</a> : A PAF C-130 aircraft carrying dead bodies of 21 Sikh Yatrees and a driver lands at PAF Base Peshawar. <br><br>The bodies include 11 males, 10 females & a four-year child died in accident, while 05 injured are under treatment at hospital. <a href="https://t.co/mo5n4sPNvl">pic.twitter.com/mo5n4sPNvl</a></p>— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) <a href="https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/1279368314150629377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

Sheikh Rasheed says 3,000 unmanned railway crossings to be 'done away with this month'

Railways minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Saturday said that all unmanned crossings will be done away with "this month", a day after a tragic train accident claimed 22 lives near Sheikhupura.

Yesterday's train-van collision has been blamed on the van driver's negligence and hasty decision to go off the path of a fenced crossing and attempt to cross the railway tracks through an unmanned crossing.

"This month, Ecnec (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) will approve the decision. [All] 3,000 unmanned crossings will be done away with, over bridges and under bridges [sic] will be opened and the track area will be completely fenced off. No one will even be able to move alongside the railway tracks," said the railways minister at the Pakistan Railways Headquarters in Lahore.

It was his first press conference since his recovery from the coronavirus.

The minister said that for the Mainline-1 (ML-1) project, the track would be more secure, adding that the paper work on the ML-1 project was in progress and it would be started soon.

He thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa for their special interest in the ML-1 project.

Rasheed said that the current year would be the year of the railways' complete revival, adding that no worker would be sacked. “We will provide employment to more than 100,000 people in the railways soon,” the minister said.

He said that the railways was operating trains with 60% occupancy and bearing losses but was still facilitating people across the country.

To a question, he said that all concessions to the elderly people in the trains would remain intact and they could enjoy these concession in all trains.

The minister said that fare of the trains would not be increased, adding that he had rejected such suggestions already and the burden of fuel prices would not be shifted to the passengers.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/296352-drivers-negligence

 

[uberkoen]

I don't understand people who are out here supporting the government on this. Innocent people are dying and there are people on here playing politics. What if you loved one was on that train? Would you still post stuff like this?

The government should hold the railway ministry accountable for the number of accidents that have happened.

 

[Abdullah719]

PR to launch public awareness campaign to control accidents

ISLAMABAD: In order to save lives of the people, Pakistan Railways Monday decided to launch public awareness campaign through media to control accidents.

It was decided in a high level meeting here held at the Ministry of Railways on Railway Safety Operations and unmmaned level crossings, said a press release.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Railways.

According to a survey, Pakistan Railways in collaboration with the provincial governments, has improved significantly unmanned level crossings.

The drivers of vehicles should abide by the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Railways, otherwise strict legal action should be taken against the violators.

The meeting had also taken several decisions especially regarding the level crossings and various aspects for safety measures for the traffic passing through road.

The meeting was decided to adopt a comprehensive strategy to further improve the safety infrastructure at all levels and also to take steps for the training of the personnel deployed there.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40003196/pr-to-launch-public-awareness-campaign-to-control-accidents