Our Correspondent
Sheikhupura
At least 20 members of Peshawar’s Sikh community lost their lives on Friday when the Shah Hussain Express train crashed into their bus as it attempted to cross train tracks near Sheikhupura.
According to initial reports, 20 members of a family had been traveling in a Toyota coaster from Peshawar to Nankana Sahib to attend a funeral.
Rescue officials said the driver of the coaster had tried to take the path from an unsecured railway crossing instead of the road when the vehicle collided with the Lahore-bound train near the Farooqabad Railway Station.
All the wounded have been shifted to a nearby hospital, added officials.
Evacuee Trust Property Board’s Deputy Secretary Shrines, Imran Gondal, said that all Sikh travellers were Pakistani nationals and residents of Peshawar.
Gondal said that the bodies of the accident victims were being shifted to Mayo Hospital Lahore, while the wounded are hospitalised in Sheikhupura and Lahore.
A few among the wounded are reportedly in a critical condition and receiving treatment at District Headquarters Hospital in Sheikhupura. All the deceased are said to be from one family. Eight people were reported injured.
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the train-coach accident and directed authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the wounded.
The premier announced that the Railways’ “operational safety SOPs will be reviewed immediately”.
Rescue officials from both Railways and Rescue 1122 arrived at the scene of the accident and provided first aid to the injured, a statement by the Railways Ministry said. All divisional officials were also directed to reach the crash site.
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.
Sheikhupura DPO Mohammad Ghazi Salahuddin, while talking to reporters, said that 25-26 people were travelling in the coach, out of whom 20 had been killed in the accident. The victims included women and children as well.
According to the DPO, the passengers in the coaster were Sikh Yatrees who were returning from Nankana Sahib — where they had gone to visit relatives — to Peshawar. He added that there were two more coaches that took a different route and are safely on their way.
Secretary-General Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Sardar Amir Singh said the deceased belong to three or four families.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid ordered immediate action against those responsible for the tragic incident.
As opposed to the initial reports that suggested that the crossing was unmanned, the DPO said that the gate was closed. He said that it seemed like the driver had tried to take a shortcut instead of waiting at the crossing, which resulted in the crash. He added that facts will only be clear after an investigation.
Meanwhile, COAS expressing grief on the loss of precious lives in Friday’s tragic train accident near Sheikupura condoles with the bereaved families, and prayed for early recovery of the injured.
