Four killed, over 30 injured after train derails in Pakistan's Punjab

Islamabad, October 13 (IANS): At least four people were killed and more than 30 others injured after the Rehman Baba Express derailed near Sher Shah Railway Station in Multan district of Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday, local media reported.The train was heading to Peshawar when the incident occurred. Pakistan's Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi confirmed the death of four passengers after the train derailed in Multan.Abbasi also appointed the federal government inspector of railways (FGIR) as the inquiry officer to carry out a probe into the incident, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.Locopilot Rizwan Abbas has said that the train was travelling at 100 kilometres per hour, and he suddenly felt a push when the train was passing through the Sher Shah station area.Abbas said that he applied the brakes and stopped the train."When I got out of the locomotive and looked back, I saw that the passenger coaches had derailed and were lying off the tracks. It was horrible," Dawn quoted Abbas as saying.Pakistan has reported several train derailment incidents over the past year, sparking concerns over possible negligence and deep-rooted issues of Pakistan Railways (PR) over maintenance of trains and tracks across the country.On October 1, two passenger trains - Shalimar Express and Pakistan Express- narrowly escaped major accidents after derailing.In August, one person was killed and at least 24 passengers were injured after four carriages of the Awam Express, en route from Peshawar to Karachi, derailed near Lodhran railway station in Pakistan.Lodhran Deputy Commissioner (DC) Lubna Nazir stated that the injured people included 16 men, four women and three children, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.In July, three coaches of the Jaffar Express derailed after a blast occurred on the railway track near Shikarpur in Sindh, leaving one passenger injured and disrupting train operations in the area.Multiple coaches derailed off the track due to the blast, disrupting railway operations on the impacted route.