At least 16 dead, more than 70 injured in Pakistan train collision

A passenger train rammed into a freight train at a railway station in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 78 others, hospital officials said.

The freight train was stationary when the speeding passenger train hit it at Walhar Railway Station in Rahim Yar Khan, in the eastern Punjab province. Jamil Ahmed, an official in the provincial government, said hospitals declared an emergency.

Sixteen people were killed in the train crash and 78 were wounded, with some in critical condition, according to Javed Ahmed, a physician treating the wounded.

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Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the victims and said he was saddened by the news.

Khan ordered Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to “take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure” and ensure safety standards.

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Authorities said Pakistan’s army was also taking part in the rescue efforts.

Train accidents in Pakistan are often the result of poor railway infrastructure and official negligence.

Last month, six people were killed when a freight train collided with a passenger train in Hyderabad 165 km (100 miles) from Karachi.

The cause of Thursday’s crash is under investigation but Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said human error was believed to be responsible.

— With a file from Reuters