The Ministry of Railways on Tuesday suspended six officers for alleged negligence behind the Tezgam Express tragedy that resulted in the deaths of at least 75 people who were swallowed by an unforgiving blaze while the train was en route to Rawalpindi from Karachi.
According to the notification issued by the ministry, the suspended officials include Karachi Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) Junaid Aslam, Sukkur DCO Abid Qamar Sheikh, Sukkur Assistant Commercial Officer (ACO) Rashid Ali, Karachi ACO Ehsan-ul-Haq, Sukkur Deputy Superintendent of Railway Police (DSRP) Dilawar Memon and Karachi DSRP Habibullah Khattak.
The railway department claimed that the incident occurred when a gas cylinder – apparently brought on board by passengers – exploded while they were making breakfast. However, eyewitnesses claimed that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the train.
The inferno swept through three compartments of the train as it was bypassing Liaquatpur city in the southern Punjab district of Rahim Yar Khan, according to officials.
Some of the victims were killed by head injuries sustained as they leapt from the moving train in a bid to save their lives.