MULTAN, Pakistan: A passenger train derailed in central Pakistan early Tuesday, killing five people and injuring 35 others, police and a Pakistan Railways spokesman said.
The train was traveling from the southern port city of Karachi to the northwestern city of Peshawar when it derailed in Sher Shah city in Punjab province, railway spokesman Kaleem Akhtar said.
Rescuers recovered all four bodies and evacuated the injured from the train’s 14 cars, he said. The injured were taken to a hospital for treatment, but one died before he could be transported, rescue officials said. Emergency responders and paramedics were dispatched to the scene, he said.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief in separate statements and urged authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the injured.
Train accidents are relatively common in Pakistan, where the railway system has suffered from decades of underinvestment, outdated tracks and aging signal systems. In 2023, ten cars of a passenger train derailed in southern Pakistan, killing 30 people and injuring more than 90 others.