Islamabad: Ruling out any "sabotage" in the collision of three passenger trains at a station in southern Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf today said the pre-dawn pile-up that killed at least 128 people could have occurred due to "carelessness" and vowed to punish those found guilty. "It is clear that there was no sabotage. It could be due to carelessness (of staff). We will inquire immediately. Anyone found guilty should be punished. I have already spoken to the Railway authorities," Musharraf, who was in Karachi, told the state-run PTV.
Pakistan railway officials blamed the country's worst-ever train accident in a decade on human error, suggesting that carelessness of the staff might have been the reason why the stationary Quetta Express was hit by the Karachi-Lahore Express from the rear as it was allowed to travel on the same track.
Another train, the Karachi-Rawalpindi Express, crashed into the debris of the bogies of the two trains which fell on the adjoining track, resulting in heavy casualties among the passengers travelling by that train.
Expressing his grief Musharraf said so far around 107 bodies have been retrieved from the site and army and civil administration have been fully geared up to evacuate the injured to hospitals.
He said the army has deployed several helicopters to evacuate the injured and an emergency has been declared in several hospitals to treat the injured
The accident which occurred around 4.30 am today at Sarhad station about 600 kms from Karachi in Sindh province killed at least 128 people and injured hundreds of others.
Pakistan Railways chairman Shakil Durrani told PTV at least 13 train carriages were derailed and damaged in the incident. Some bogies were tossed up in the air and fell on the adjoining track.
Pakistan Railways general manager Abdul Bhav said that a few derailed bogies were being opened to extricate more bodies and to rescue those trapped. Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident took place.
Durrani said investigations have been ordered to know the cause of the accident but another railway official said human error had led to the collision.
The official said the conductor of the Karachi Express had failed to correctly read a signal at Sarhad railway station.
Durrani said all train services in the area have been suspended and arrangements were being made to use alternative routes.
