The Pakistani Railways Minister said on Wednesday (9th) that a train derailed to the path of another oncoming express passenger train, but the journey was still started. The Pakistani Railways Minister said on Wednesday (9th) that the authorities are investigating 63 people. The cause of death in the crash.
The Sir Said Express passenger train on Monday (7) passed through the carriages of the Mira Express, which derailed near Dahaki in Sindh a few minutes ago.
The accident has once again sparked controversy about the dangerous state of Pakistan's public transportation system, especially the rail network that has been almost without investment for decades.
Railway Minister Azam Swati said at a press conference in Lahore: “The buffer joint of the Millat Express bus No. 10 has malfunctioned and the bolts have been loosened, causing derailment.”
Buffer joints or couplings are connected to the trolley.
Swati blamed the accident on aging rolling stock-some of which are more than 50 years old-and called for large-scale investment in the country's squeaky and accident-prone railway network.
"We are a poor country and don't even have new technology to overhaul coaches," he said, adding that technicians are "still using hammers."
Swati said that about 22 senior and junior officials were responsible for the series of errors that led to the accident and would "take responsibility."
He said that most of the casualties came from train collisions, not derailments.
Although local people rushed to the scene to help, it took several hours for professional machinery to arrive and rescue people from the entangled wreckage.
Most train passengers in Pakistan are working class and they cannot afford faster bus journeys.
In 1990, an overloaded 16-carriage intercity train crashed into a stationary freight train near Sukkur, Sindh, killing more than 300 people and injuring 700 others.
Recently, in October 2019, a train caught fire on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, killing at least 75 people.
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