- Two bogies of special train carrying army troops fell into canal while two other bogies derailed after dilapidated railway bridge collapsed
- Railways minister rules out terrorism but says sabotage can’t be ruled out
At least 19 people, including four army officers, were killed when three bogies of a special train carrying army officials fell into a canal and one other was derailed as a railway bridge collapsed near Gujranwala on Thursday.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 14 dead bodies had been recovered from the site of the incident, while divers were searching the canal for five more dead bodies.
The deceased include Pakistan Army Engineering Battalion Unit Commander Lt. Col Amir Jadoon, his wife and two children, Lt. Col Rashid, Major Adil, Lieutenant Kashif, Constable Islam, Lance Naik Zafar and staffers Babar and Aslam.
Lt Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted that four bogies of a special train carrying military troops to Kharian fell over a bridge near Jamke Chattha into a canal.
According to government officials, as many as 80 affected passengers were rescued and shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Gujranwala.
The special train was heading to Kharian from Pano Aqil. According to sources, the train was carrying army personnel who were travelling for a military exercise.
The pre-partition bridge that collapsed as the train was passing over it was reportedly in a dilapidated condition.
Federal Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said that a probe has begun into the incident and that so far no evidence of terrorism has been found. But he did say the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out in the tragedy. Rafique said that a complete report of the incident would be presented in 72 hours.
The collapse also raises concerns about the safety of infrastructure. Several TV channels reported that the bridge had been marked as “extremely dangerous” as most railway bridges were built over 100 years ago by the British.
However, Director General Public Relations of Pakistan Railways (PR) Abdul Rauf Tahir told a news channel that the railway bridge was in a completely fine condition and sufficiently strong.
Tahir said all railway bridges, including the one near Gujranwala, were thoroughly examined in January and this particular bridge was deemed perfectly fit for railway traffic.
He said about 90 minutes prior to the incident, which took place at around 12 noon, the train on Rawalpindi-Karachi-Rawalpindi passed over the same railway bridge “safely in full speed”.
Tahir further said it was evident from the footage being shown on TV channels that bridge was not in rundown condition as the pillars of the bridge still stand erect. He added that an investigation team had been formed to probe the incident and it was likely that the team would investigate alongside intelligence agencies.