The express train derailment which killed at least 34 people was caused by missing fishplates and a damaged track, a preliminary probe report has said, even as officials are not ruling out the possibility of sabotage in the major accident in Pakistan's Sindh province.
The Hazara Express train travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed on Sunday in Nawabshah district near the Sarhari Railway Station, 275 kilometres from the provincial capital Karachi.
"Missing fishplates and a damaged track caused the derailment of the Hazara Express, the preliminary report was quoted as stating by the Dawn newspaper on Tuesday.
“After checking from all the aspects, we came to (the) conclusion that (the) accident took place due to fresh rail broken and fishplates missing,” said the report released by the six-member Pakistan Railways inquiry team on Monday.
The team also identified the skidding of the train’s locomotive as another reason behind the derailment.
The report says the train engine had left the site without examination by senior subordinates.
However, some railway officials are not ruling out the possibility of sabotage in the accident.
Moreover, “little hitting spots” were found on the iron fishplates and wooden terminal beyond the accident point. “Hence the engineering branch and mechanical branch are held responsible for this accident,” it reads.
At least 34 people died and over 100 were injured in the accident, officials said.
Two of the team members gave dissenting notes.
Stating that he did not agree with the report, one member said, “The derailment took place due to two fishplates missing, broken rail, [and] engine derailment inside the track due to spread of the gauge. As a result, the grazing marks were also found visible outside the wheel disc. Also, no heating marks were observed on the track, fishplates and bolts.” According to the other dissenting official, the actual cause of the derailment was “due to engine axle jamming resulting in deep fling which left hitting marks” at fishplates. “This deepness increased with continuous jamming, resulting in breakage of fish bolts for the missing fishplates,” the official’s note reads.
However, it was a “very initial probe report” as the final one will take some time to prepare, the report said.
“A detailed probe is underway as the Federal Government Inspector of Railways is on-site to find out the reason behind this tragedy,” the report added.
Meanwhile, the burials of many of the passengers killed, including women and children have started since Monday, and tragic tales of families losing their bread earners and close ones are still being revealed.
A woman, Sharifan Bibi, boarded the train from Tando Adam to take a half an hour's journey to Nawabshah station to go and condole the death of a close relative.
“She came to know that two of her close relatives were coming from Karachi on the train to get off at Nawabshah to go and condole with relatives so she also got on the train from Tando Adam,” her brother told Geo TV.
For Sharifan Bibi, the short journey ended in her death while her two female relatives were also killed in the crash. The women were buried in Hyderabad amidst sad scenes.
The family of Muhammad Ashiq also could not control their emotions when he was buried in Nawabshah.
“Our father ran a grocery shop and had gone to Karachi for a cardiac checkup and was returning on the train,” one of his sons Faisal said.
He has left behind six children and four other family members to grieve his death as he was the sole bread earner for them.
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