At Least 40 Dead in Pakistan Train Crash

This image from a video, shows the site of a train collision in Pakistan, June 7, 2021. AP
This image from a video, shows the site of a train collision in Pakistan, June 7, 2021. AP
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At Least 40 Dead in Pakistan Train Crash

This image from a video, shows the site of a train collision in Pakistan, June 7, 2021. AP
This image from a video, shows the site of a train collision in Pakistan, June 7, 2021. AP

At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured Monday when a packed Pakistani inter-city train ploughed into another express that had derailed just minutes earlier, officials said.

Several people were still trapped in the mangled wreckage near Daharki, in a remote part of rural Sindh province, which took rescue workers with specialist equipment hours to reach.

The double accident happened around 3.30am when most of the 1,200 passengers aboard the two trains would have been dozing.

The Millat Express was heading from Karachi to Sargodha when it derailed, spilling carriages onto the track carrying the Sir Syed Express from Rawalpindi in the opposite direction.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the incidents were just minutes apart.

Senior Daharki police officer Umar Tufail said 40 people were killed and dozens injured.

A clip aired on a local channel showed medics giving an intravenous drip to a conscious passenger whose lower torso was trapped between crushed carriage benches.

Local farmers and villagers were the first at the site, with huge crowds gathering around the carnage of several overturned Pakistan Railways carriages -- some clambering on top in an attempt to reach survivors.

The dead were laid out in rows on train seat benches and covered in traditional scarves.

The accident happened on a raised section of track surrounded by lush farmlands.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, a former railways minister, said the track where the accident occurred was built in the 1880s and described it as "a shambles".

A senior police official said he had already warned authorities about the "dangerous condition" of the tracks and carriages.

The Pakistan army and paramilitary rangers from nearby bases were at the site to help.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was "shocked" by the accident and promised a full inquiry.



Netanyahu Says Iran’s Government Fears Its People More than Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Says Iran’s Government Fears Its People More than Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday in a direct message to Iranians that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government feared the people of Iran more than Israel.

"That’s why they spend so much time and money trying to crush your hopes and curb your dreams," he said in a video message. "Well, I say to you this: Don’t let your dreams die. I hear the whispers: Women, Life, Freedom. Zan, Zendegi, Azadi.

"Don't lose hope. And know that Israel and others in the free world stand with you," Netanyahu said.